You may have an idea for a business but think because you don’t have the money that your dream of starting your own business will never be a reality.

However, there are a number of things you can do right now to help you get started on the path toward building your dream business. There are many steps you can take to develop startup ideas and flesh them out. And those initial steps do not take any money at all — just time and effort on your part.

1. Start a journal.

You probably have two valuable tools sitting on your desk right now: paper and pencils. Many of the greatest business people and inventors of our time kept notebooks full of ideas, thoughts and sketches. If you are still investigating what type of business you might be interested in keeping a journal is a great way to come up with great ideas. You might be shopping at the local grocery store and have that “Aha!” moment for a product or service that would take the marketplace by storm.

2. Every good business needs a business plan.

In fact, when you are looking for financing from the Small Business Administration, or even local financing, many lenders want to see a business plan first. There is a wealth of information available online and at your local library to help you put together your business plan.

In fact, putting together a business plan is one of the first things you should do before investing a dollar of your money into a business. It involves a lot of research and number crunching but is well worth it. It not only allows potential lenders to see how you plan to run the business, but it may also give you a reality check. When you see the numbers and figures on paper it lets you see firsthand if your business has a good chance of surviving, because the reality is that sometimes we have great ideas but the marketplace just isn’t ready for them yet. A good example of this is the personal computer — the idea had been around for well over a decade before IBM and Apple found a suitable marketplace for it.

3. Do you know your competition?

This is another area you can focus on right now without money. Learn about your potential competitors, what they offer and how they differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Learn from them to not only make your business better but to also find out if there is additional room in the marketplace for your business.

While you may have a great idea for the next gadget you may very well find out that the marketplace is already saturated with similar products from other competitors. You could potentially save yourself a large amount of money avoiding a failed venture by knowing your marketplace.

4. Cut through red tape and delays.

Does your business idea involve a physical product? If so, are you up to speed on all the regulations and requirements to bring that product to market? Use this time to find out about not only federal but local regulations that might affect your product roll out. Food products, for instance, are heavily regulated by various agencies because of their potential to harm others if not properly manufactured, distributed and sold.

You can find out a lot of this information from the Small Business Administration and your state government. Ask your local librarian as well, as they may be able to point you to local rules and regulations that will also affect your product.

5. Build the infrastructure.

If you are new to the world of running your own business you can also use this time to find out more about how to keep bookkeeping records, comply with federal and state tax codes and get the proper licenses. You might find that local Chamber of Commerce groups have free, introductory classes on running a business you could take to learn about the behind the scenes work required to run your own business.

Even though funds might be tight, or even non-existent, there are a number of things you can do now to get your business off on the right track. Use this time wisely to investigate the proper way to run a business as well as to investigate how the marketplace for your particular business is currently looking, not only today but in the near future. By putting a little research into your business now, before you take the plunge, you may come out miles ahead when you finally open up shop!

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About the Author: Husband, Father, Friend, Lifestyle Coach, Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur, David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST. For more info go to Slow Down Fast and visit his blog at Slow Down Fast blog.

The post Aspiring Entrepreneurs: No Money? No Problem! Get Started Today appeared first on Small Business Trends.

There are ways you can combat this loneliness when traveling on business.  Some of them may lead you to discover new friends or learn a little bit more about the culture where you are visiting.

1. Use Inexpensive Technology to Keep in Touch

Most business travelers carry a laptop with them – it is their lifeblood back to the business. One easy way to keep in touch with family and friends while on the road is to invest in a small webcam to hook up to the laptop so you can video conference with them to catch up on life back home and share with them some of your traveling stories. There is something special about not only being able to hear the voices of the people on the other end of the phone, but also to see them as well. In a sense it gives the feeling that they are just in the next room or right there beside you. Most webcams can be had for under $100 and all the popular instant messaging programs support them. Another benefit to investing in a webcam for travel is it lets you have teleconferences with people back in the office should the need arise – again, there is something about putting a face to a conversation that makes it stick!

2. Experience, life — wherever you are.

Don’t put your life on hold simply because you’re not on your home turf. If you find you are going to be in an area for a while, take the opportunity to learn more about the culture and local activities. Often business hotels are filled with people just like you — sitting around in the evenings with very little to do. Strike up a conversation with someone and ask the concierge about local attractions that might interest you or a group of people. Many business hotels nowadays are arranging social events in the evenings, such as group outing to a local ballpark or museum. They are not only wonderful ways to get out and enjoy some of the culture of the area, but they can also be a great chance to network with others — you never know who you will run into. Case in point: it is a well known fact that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are both avid card players and participate frequently in both local tournaments and online games. Just imagine being able to talk to one of those guys in a relaxed atmosphere!

3. Perform some due diligence.

When in Rome … check out the competition! Use the time you spend somewhere to visit businesses such as yours as the opportunity arises. It is a great way to get a feel for the competition or to see what trends are happening in your business segment that you might not be aware of. Pick up the phone book in your hotel room and “let your fingers do the walking” as you find what types of businesses similar to yours are in the local area.

4. Be of service to your customers and in touch with your industry.

Traveling is also a great opportunity to pay courtesy calls to customers who may live in the area, or to pay a visit to a company that you do business with. Many times, depending on the type of service or product your business provides, customers can be thrilled to get a personal “house call.” Be sure to arrange these types of visits well in advance so you can plan out your time. The same goes for visiting other businesses you work with or buy items from. You can often build up a personal relationship with them by paying a call when you are in the area which can pay great dividends down the road in the form of discounts, special offers and customer referrals.

5. Engage in personal development.

Take some time out for your personal growth and to nurture your creativity. Use your down time when traveling to build your personal and life skills. It may be a great time to take along those DVD’s you bought of a personal development seminar, or to finish reading a book you’ve put off for so long. Take that telecourse or download some audio casts to your mp3 player. There may even be local events you can attend that focus on a particular topic you are interested in. Use the power of networking and the Internet to do your research beforehand and you will find that more often than not in larger cities you can fill your free time up nicely and help advance your life and your business at the same time!

Business travel doesn’t have to be a lonely time. Spend your time wisely. Plan ahead and make some time for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

How have you found ways to rid yourself of isolation while away from home?

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About the Author: Husband, Father, Friend, Lifestyle Coach, Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur, David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST. For more info go to Slow Down Fast and visit his blog at Slow Down Fast blog.

The post 5 Methods to Conquer Loneliness When Traveling on Business appeared first on Small Business Trends.

This should come to no surprise to many of you reading this. It seems we are all working longer hours and spending more time trying to keep up with technology rather than using it to help us achieve productivity gains. We’ve become victims of our own success; often times forgetting about those people we share a house with — our family.

Many of us spend too much time with our noses to the grindstone and not enough time pursuing our passions in life. For some of us, its lack of organization that seems to hold us down. We end up spending a majority of our time trying to track down information or sort through the massive inflow of information that comes across our desk each day. For others it may be that we believe we have to have our finger on every pulse our business generates — we are afraid of letting go, thinking that nobody could possibly do it better than we can so we better keep on top of it.

Ask yourself these questions:

• “Have I missed family obligations regularly during the past year?” There are many of us who simply don’t know what a work-life balance is. We think that working 60+ hour weeks is normal and that missing our son’s or daughter’s school play is just “the way the world works today”. Yet, if that were true, then how come so many other parents always seem to be there when you aren’t? Are you going to wake up one morning and realize that your children are grown and that the family that you worked on starting went on with life without you?

• “Am I satisfied with the way my life is right now?” If you can say yes, even though you are working those 60+ hour weeks, then your life is balanced the way you see fit. If on the other hand, you answer no then there are ways to make your life, and your job, more enjoyable and productive so that you achieve your life goals and make your career more rewarding and productive.

• “Am I doing what I love?” When we look for this work-life balance, sometimes the journey isn’t about finding out what works for us — but rather it is finding out what doesn’t work. What do you want out of life? When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up? Even if you are 50, what do you want to do in your life and your career? The answers may lead you to discover that for whatever reason you strayed from the original path that you wanted to lead your life.

There are plenty of people who get up every morning and head out to jobs that they dread. These may be people working at a factory, or even a CEO of a major corporation. They are doing what they think they have to do. Often they got to where they are at just by “following along” and doing what they thought came next. Instead of letting their goals and dreams of life lead them, they let the corporate ladder be their road to what to do next. These are the people who don’t smile when they talk about work (at least occasionally) or those who toss and turn all night long because they know another day is going to bring more of the same — more of what they dread.

Make 2008 the year to take stock of your life goals. If you feel you’ve gotten off track, then make changes.

Here’s how to get started:
(1) Write a list of what you want to do to spend more time with your family and then pursue ways to make it happen.

(2) Next, take a few steps to find ways to do things at your business or job more productive – like taking steps to get rid of the information overload, or prioritizing projects or clients. Sometimes in order to grow your business, and yourself, you have to know when to say no to a client or project. Saying no is not always a bad thing.

The New Year brings us a lot of opportunities to help us get our lives back on track. It can be the year that we set out on the journey to achieve all the things we enjoy and our passionate about. It can be the year we get to know, all over again, our family and spouses. It can be the year we grow our business or advance in our career by not working harder, but rather working smarter. It can even be the year we discover a new career.

What will 2008 help you do? More importantly, what will you do in 2008 to achieve a work-life balance that advances your life for the better?

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About the Author: Husband, Father, Friend, Lifestyle Coach, Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur, David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST. For more info go to Slow Down Fast and visit his blog at Slow Down Fast blog.

The post Who Else (Besides a Majority of Business Professionals) Wants Work Life Balance in 2008? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

As a small business owner, this is also the perfect time of year to make a list of resolutions of things you can do to help grow your business in the coming year. Think of it as reinforcing your business plan — or in some cases, rewriting your business plan to take advantage of new opportunities.

Let’s take a look at five resolutions that you can make for 2008 to grow and solidify your business.

Resolution #1: Back Up Your Data.

Backup, Backup, Backup. What would happen to your business come tomorrow if you woke up and found out that your computer with all your finances, customer information and invoices had died? All too often small businesses don’t back up their data and as a result their computers turn into ticking time bombs. In 2008 resolve to make better use of backup software and other technology that helps keep you protected from the failure that will happen sooner or later. Take advantage of new technology that allows for automatic, off-site backups that protect you even further by storing your critical data at another location. Most of these packages are available for a nominal fee and are worth their weight in gold when disaster strikes.

Resolution #2: Invest in Customer Relationship Software.

Turn your customer data into something you can use to help you grow your business. So many companies store their customer data in spreadsheets or in files scattered across the office. Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM is the industry slang) helps you manage your customer relationships and track not only their orders but also their interaction with you via phone, email or other means. With a few clicks you can find out who your most valuable customers are, which ones are consuming large amounts of your time and which ones are prospects for growth in the upcoming year. There are many packages on the market that can help you with this, ranging from off-the-shelf varieties that can suit most business needs and are available at your local office supply store to fully customizable one from big vendors such as Microsoft and Oracle. Take some time this New Year to read up more on CRM software and learn how it can be a valuable tool in managing your customers and your business.

Resolution #3: Procure a Good Accounting Package.

Make 2008 the year you stop using spreadsheets to track your finances and invest in a good accounting package. Spreadsheets are good for very small businesses, but the moment when you start growing you will find that you are being held back by their lack of ability to manage complex financial transactions. Another benefit you will receive from investing in a good accounting package is that tax time will be a breeze. Many accounting packages on the market today have modules that let you literally point, click and print your tax returns for your business! A good accounting package can pay for itself within weeks and in many cases even sooner. Think how much more effectively you could run your business when you can get up in the morning and see, at-a-glance, how well your business is doing.

Resolution #4: Become a Marketing Pro.

Learn how to effectively market yourself and your business. You don’t need an MBA in Marketing to be an effective marketer thanks to the wealth of information online and in stores nowadays about how to market almost any type of business. Perhaps 2008 is the year you decide to take a class or two at your local college to brush up on your marketing skills. Many businesspeople are heading back to the classroom to learn about more effective business management and marketing — plus it is a terrific way to network. Take a few moments when you turn the calendar to put together a list of marketing resources available online and locally and then resolve to take action on one or more of them. After all, nobody is going to buy from your company if they don’t know who you are to begin with!

Resolution #5: Outsource!

Take inventory in your business of how you can offload some of the more repetitive, routine tasks to others to allow you more time to grow the business. We often get loaded down with routine tasks that must be done, but end up stealing away our precious time we could be investing in the business to make it grow. Whether it be by hiring an administrative assistant to do some of these tasks or outsourcing some of the work to specialty companies or individuals, you may be surprised to find out that the additional cost of doing so is more than made up for by the “brain power” you are able to put back into your business. An added benefit is that by adding personnel to do such tasks they may be able to find even more efficiencies since they are often skilled in these areas — because, let’s face it, not all of us can be an expert on every aspect of running a business!

So now it’s time for you to act.

What will you do this New Year to help your small business grow? What action plans can you put in place now to guide you through the upcoming year?

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About the Author: Husband, Father, Friend, Lifestyle Coach, Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur, David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST. For more info go to Slow Down Fast and visit his blog at Slow Down Fast blog.

The post Entrepreneurs: 5 Sure-Fire Business Resolutions for 2008 appeared first on Small Business Trends.

I wrote in my last column about the new Amazon Kindle eBook reader and said:

“We’ve all been anxiously waiting for the ‘paperless office’ prognostications to come true, yet this promise appears to be a delusion that’s more elusive than ever.”

But perhaps the paperless office is in sight. Yes, I’ve listened to those who continue to say that the paperless office is still a dream. But I think the key here is to aim for, and work towards, progress in ridding yourself of paper, not perfection in achieving that ultimate goal. The right data management system can combine the practicality of paper with the speed of new information and technology.

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, we want to eliminate the amount of paper we use because it simply requires too much time (and money) to produce, organize, and reclaim. Doing so could just save your company a lot of money, and help you make more money as well.

With the current proliferation of information, we need to make information available to ourselves and others at the speed of today’s world.

Take a look at the way paper and files are being handled at your business.

If you’re like me, I’d be so bold as to suggest that what you find won’t make you happy.

You may have the most organized office in the world, yet the time that it takes to systematize your record-keeping and sustain this method of organization translates in to real dollars – hours that could be spent on R & D and marketing.

Do you employ a ‘piles’ system of filing, keeping things in neat heaps so that you know exactly where everything is? Think of the physical clutter this causes, as well as the guilt that you feel because you’re always feeling the need to ‘go through’ these piles — to ensure, at the very least, that you haven’t forgotten something.

If paper files are burying your office, “going paperless” might be a good option. But what, exactly, does going paperless mean for your business? It involves making the decision to do it and not turning back. It means getting all those files scanned into the computer, and training staff to use the digital files.

Now those papers that used to have to be shipped from one associate to another or from your business to a client or perspective client can be viewed wherever they’re needed. Your company can save many hours and endless dollars in productivity and efficiency alone.

The reality is that your office will always use paper. The term ‘paperless’ is too high of a standard to reach. Some people need to print things out to read them. You’ll print things to carry with you and show to other people. Not every presentation can be tailored to PowerPoint. You won’t be getting rid of those printers.

But you’ll be getting rid of the filing cabinets, or at least some of them, as you scan files into your computer and create new files on the computer, and the need to constantly organize those files.

Here are 4 things to consider when going paperless:

1. When scanning files, a dedicated document scanner is vital.

2. When saving files, the best and most universally-accepted way is in PDF format, or portable document format. This is a stable format that keeps the file looking exactly as it looked on paper. It can be read online or printed, takes little space, and is easy to create with software available from Adobe.

3. If you’re digitizing your files, you’re going to need a hard drive dedicated to holding your new “file cabinet,” and a good data backup system. Technical professionals suggest having two portable hard drives. You back one up to the other each week, and take the backup to an offsite location such as a bank deposit box.

4. If you do not have your computers on a local area network (LAN), they will need to be hooked up so everyone can access the files. Setting up a wireless network costs about $25-50 per computer, plus $75-100 dollars for the “hub” or central router for four computers.

Most people have no trouble viewing digital files and maintaining them. What you and your employees may have trouble with is getting used to the new record-keeping and information management system. Get everyone on board in terms of the file protocols. How should the directories be labeled? How should files be named? It is essential that everyone use the same standards. Decide what those will be and print copies for everyone. Make a copy available on the company network.

Going paperless is a matter of choice: it’s a conscious lifestyle and a work style decision. It’s one that, when completely committed to, can increase your productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness, as well as reduce the amount of waste that each and every one of us produce.

Have you made the decision to go paperless?

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About the Author: Husband, Father, Friend, Lifestyle Coach, Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur, David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST. For more info go to Slow Down Fast and visit his blog at Slow Down Fast blog.

The post Entrepreneurs: Remember the Promise of the Paperless Office? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

I love it. I’m all for Kindle and any other technology that delivers convenience and enhances the quality of my life without further complicating it. I am hopeful that Kindle will allow me to conduct business — professional and personal — in a way that provides me freedom of time and place, as well as to enjoy my leisure without becoming a slave to the very technology that allowed for it in the first place.

Leaving aside the reviews complaining that it’s ugly, there are a couple of areas where people seem split. I find these reviews interesting in terms of how this new innovation will affect those of us seeking to balance life and work.

To me, there seem to be a couple of reasons for an eBook reader, in terms of balancing my life, making my life easier, and helping me keep work and life in tune with each other.

The first of those is simply reading books. I am a voracious reader, and often have three or four books going at one time. Clearly, having several books in one reader would be great for me. I could carry it with me all the time, I could read whichever book I want whenever I want, and I wouldn’t leave one book downstairs when I wanted to read it upstairs.

I picked up a couple of very interesting ideas from a live blog about the launch event on the Engadget blog. “Jeff Bezos! Jeff Bezos! He’s discussing the history of text … every thousand years there’s a paradigm shift in reading. “We forget that this is a technology… but books are a technology. And the process for making them is a very sophisticated technology.” “… The printing press has gotten a lot more sophisticated since Gutenberg’s time … Gutenberg would still recognize a modern day book.”

I agree. This is very interesting. The idea that we still hold onto a book probably has a number of reasons, one being that books are inexpensive and easy to handle, and another being that we have a cultural attachment to a book in a way we may not have had to LP records or audio cassettes.

As for whether Kindle can “beat” the book, I’m not sure it’s an all-or-nothing proposition. Guy Kawasaki captures the whole argument for me: “Most will conclude that it won’t because of cost, requirement to recharge, dropability, and dunkability (ie, in water), and in these ways it won’t. But this is mostly true for novels and any book that you’d read once and not again. However, for reference books, Kindle kicks butt. For example, I would love to have the Chicago Manual of Style on Kindle, so I can search for rules in a much better way than referring to an index. You can roll your own by sending documents to your account, and they will appear on your Kindle.”

This is where the argument, for me, gets interesting. I read a review on Amazon where one guy was saying that what Amazon doesn’t understand is that he doesn’t want to replace a book, he wants to replace his laptop.

I don’t think that’s true for people concerned with lifestyle moderation. I honestly don’t think we want to be able to carry our entire business libraries and all those documents around with us everywhere we go so that we can always work. Anita Campbell wrote about this over two months ago.

For people who do want that, Kindle is not the right choice at this time, because of its experimental PDF support.

While many reviewers are asking if Kindle can “change how we read,” I think the question is even deeper, in that Kindle may be poised to change how we think. I frequently look things up online that I could look up in a book, much faster than having a dictionary or thesaurus on my desk. How will Kindle change what I do with written words?

Only time will tell. One thing I’m convinced of today, however, is that it will positively affect our abilities to do what we want, when we want. This is always a good thing.

We’ve all been anxiously waiting for the “paperless office” prognostications to come true, yet this promise appears to be a delusion that’s more elusive than ever.

Will Amazon’s new eBook reader change the way we think?

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About the Author: Husband, Father, Friend, Lifestyle Coach, Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur, David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST. For more info go to Slow Down Fast and visit his blog at Slow Down Fast blog.

The post Will Amazon “Kindle” a New Lifestyle Trend? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Our generation was taught from a tender age to place the highest value in family, friends, and community as well as hold honesty, integrity and ethics in high esteem. Those of us who “live the dream” according to Boomer standards consider ourselves ambitious, disciplined, willing to sacrifice and able to conform (if and when we have to). We maintain loyalty to our commitments — often willingly bearing the financial responsibilities of those who came before us and those who come after. We grow concerned as the next generation shapes their own set of values which sometimes appear to contradict that which we’ve been taught.

The values and beliefs of the Baby Boomer generation were handed down to us from our parents, many of whom survived the post-war era and Great Depression. The underlying message became loud and clear, and formed a blueprint for life: If I just work hard enough and long enough, my life will turn out just fine — eventually – and it will all be worth it in the end.

Many of us do not fit or identify with the generation we are born into.

Additionally, for many of us approaching what most would have considered retirement age ten or fifteen years ago, the finish line is nowhere in sight. According to a 2004 survey conducted by AARP, “79 percent of Boomers plan to work in some capacity during their retirement years.” And for good reason — first, because Americans are enjoying longer, healthier lives — seniors are more active than ever before. Second, because the pension pan of the future is reward-based — the longer you can hang in there, the bigger the payout. And third, those of us born after 1960 won’t be entitled to full Social Security benefits until after we turn 67.

You may have your own reasons for choosing to extend your working years. It’s different for each individual but no matter what the situation, clearly Baby Boomers aren’t ready to call it quits just yet. But now the question looms: how to continue experiencing happiness and fulfillment in your personal and professional life well into the Golden Years?

Tips for Boomer Entrepreneurs: enjoy a vibrant second half of your life – and still get your fill of work and play along the way, with these tips:

Start living for the now

Think about this: if we keep sacrificing today in anticipation of some expected gain in the future, we really haven’t started living life at all.

In my case, I dreamed of one day not needing to work and having lots of money when I retired. In other words, I was working hard today with the notion of giving up work in the future. But as I trudged home from the office at 8:00 or 9:00 p.m., I wasn’t really putting too high a value on the future. I was thinking about how things weren’t so great in the now.

I realized that my true vision was to have time to enjoy the things that are most important to me — family, friends, and community. Many Baby Boomers like me have since abandoned the tireless work ethic carried over from their post-WWI parents, recognizing that times and priorities have changed. There is no guarantee as to what the future will hold. Best to take a proactive position and begin living for the present.

Cash flow your life

Initially, retirement was designed for those who reach a point in life at where a person is unable to earn a wage. Somewhere along the way the word ‘early’ became attached to it. Early retirement became a symbol of wealth, power and status. If you are anything like I am, you likely hope to stay healthy enough to have 20, 25, or more working years left in you. Maybe you even feel that in this day and age, you have more energy, ideas, and optimism, as well as experience, maturity, and patience, than at any other time in your life. And in support of that ideal, never before have we faced so many exciting opportunities to do and be what we have always dreamed of for ourselves and our lives.

My current mission, as should be yours, is to cash flow my life so that I can do what’s important to me. I plan to derive continuing happiness and fulfillment in both my personal life – in my relationships with family and friends — and in my professional life — utterly inspired by the people I meet along the way. Such an approach can carry you on through the ‘retirement’ years and grows from learning how to make mindful, conscious decisions about how you invest your money and time.

From there, you can keep your eyes open for opportunities that may mean more financial gain. Using knowledge, experience, and social influence to your advantage, you can even devise creative means of alternate income (example: become an entrepreneur) that may not have been a possibility in your younger years.

Once you master cashflow management, you pretty much have your pick of pursuits. Open your mind to a new course of study … give back in the form of volunteer work or charitable donations … spend more time with family and friends … take on the challenge of starting a business … travel the world over and immerse yourself in other cultures and ways of life. The notion that Boomers are retiring later may falsely convey a sense of impending doom … but for many of us, myself included, the next fifty years are ripe with the promise of adventure, excitement, balance, relaxation, learning, quality relationships, personal growth, and the realization of our dreams.

Stay up to date with technology

Take a computer class … or five. The 2007 season of NBC’s The Office pokes fun at what is actually a pretty major concern in the working world today — young, motivated, recent college grads moving in for the higher-paying positions and rendering the old generation obsolete due to their inability or unwillingness to adapt to modern technology. But the fact is, technology has evolved to a point where four-year olds know that whatever they could possibly want is within grabbing distance of the mouse.

As soon as the Boomers manage to get over their fear of computers, we’ll realize that in terms of technology there’s nothing we can’t master — and we’ve still got the kids beat when it comes to experience. Request a tech training course from your employer. Use the Internet. Get the latest programs onto your home computer and start using them. You won’t believe how many more opportunities can be leveraged with technology on your side.

Maintain your health

There is a ton of information available to those concerned with living longer, healthier lives — and the ways and means to keep yourself feeling young and spry well into the seventies. Things like a good healthcare plan and trusted physician, prescriptions, vitamins, nutritional advice and support, and exercise programs can keep your heart pumping, your bones strong, and your organs in good shape for as many as 15 or 20 years longer than our parents’ generation, who were not privy to the information and didn’t know any better.

And the best part is: being healthy and fit just feels better. It means being able to tackle all the sights, sounds, scents and tastes on that to-do list of Things You Want to Experience in this lifetime. It means keeping up with the young folk and not breaking a sweat. A healthy body also means a fit and able mind. And with all of this working, playing, thinking, feeling and living ahead of us, can we afford to NOT be on High Mental Alert?

Last time I checked, “retire” was another word for ‘withdraw’ or ‘remove from use.’ And I don’t know about you, but at age 47, I’m nowhere near my expiration date.

How are you blending life and work?

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About the Author: Husband, Father, Friend, Lifestyle Coach, Author, Educator, and Entrepreneur, David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST. For more info go to Slow Down Fast and visit his blog at Slow Down Fast blog.

The post Entrepreneurs, Does Retirement Fit Into Your Plans? appeared first on Small Business Trends.