[Senior Trend] Various Ways to Make Money, No-Capital and Small-Capital Startups

The senior generation has a great fear of losing their health after retirement. Besides that, they often worry about ways to earn money. As life expectancy has increased, anxiety about how to live accordingly has also grown. Wanting to convey that there are multiple paths after retirement, not just one, I opened a Senior Salon at the end of last month. Throughout this year, I plan to discuss health, leisure, and money. This time, we covered ways and types of earning money even without working for a company. Three speakers were invited.

The lecture titled 'Income Models Created by Physical Effort' was the most popular. A middle-aged speaker personally purchased an old house that was almost abandoned in a rural area. Then, following a 'House Repair' book, he renovated it and turned it into a bookstore. Since selling books alone did not generate enough income, he created a group that studies stock investment early in the morning, and used the space in various ways, such as gathering and selling various local foods like a marketplace. Eventually, a local elder took over the bookstore and ran a cafe instead, selling it for a profit. Since the speaker had previously experienced a business failure in his youth, he was always thinking of ways to earn money by moving his body rather than investing large capital, and even learned massage to provide services. He was making every effort to ensure that his income from labor reached a certain monthly amount.

Next was the topic of 'Senior Career Branding.' It involved consulting young people preparing for interviews by utilizing their experience and career from working at companies, and earning money through blog writing and online coaching. In fact, the most common post-retirement education programs for seniors are social networking service (SNS) writing or training online promotional reporters. Depending on the number of online neighbors or followers and the response to posts, one can earn 20,000 to 300,000 KRW per post. There are many companies that mediate this, making the market large and competition fierce, but it is still a method that uses only time and effort resources rather than capital investment. If you are confident in writing consistently and can add photos or images, it is worth trying. Recently, some seniors publish books about their life stories, long-term hobbies, or work experience and actively work as instructors. They may apply when local government offices, cultural centers, or local authorities hold regular recruitment, get connected through introductions, or attract customers themselves via YouTube or online. Income varies from 10,000 KRW per hour to hundreds of thousands depending on experience and recognition, but it is a popular field that utilizes matured time resources.

As the organizer, the most interesting part for me was the last case. It was about analyzing big data on the topic 'Where and what do others do after retirement?' The speaker showed at the end of the lecture that if you want to earn money, you should prepare for 'high-demand areas,' highlighting how frequently 'Park Golf' is mentioned among seniors. Checking a site that shows search term rankings, from May 2022 to the end of April 2023, Park Golf-related terms indicated a shortage of Park Golf courses and the need for expansion. Related search terms included Park Golf course, Park Golf tournament, Park Golf clubs, and other facilities and equipment. Besides the rapid increase in related club members every year, more than 80% of the usage of these terms was positive. Looking at the membership growth trend of the Korea Park Golf Association, there has been an annual increase of over 30% since 2020. One individual who originally taught singing as a main job started Park Golf instruction as a side job and found it more profitable. Others began teaching after obtaining Park Golf instructor certification. Since local governments are competing to build Park Golf courses as a 'miniature golf' to attract tourists rather than large golf courses, opportunities for seniors to find related work will increase.

In 2023, there are a total of 3 million business owners in their 50s. The number of non-salaried workers (self-employed) aged 50 and over increased by more than 130,000 in one year. Instead of receiving a salary from an organization, they register as individual business owners. According to the National Tax Service’s top 100 lifestyle business survey, seniors are concentrated in telemarketing, Korean cuisine restaurants, real estate brokerage, coffee and beverage shops, and interior decoration businesses. While it would be ideal for everyone to advance toward a 'long-term money-earning life,' it might be better to realize that there are various paths and decide on a method. Due to ultra-aging, the government is struggling to support the elderly population, a situation already intensified in Japan. Since relying on 'welfare' is difficult, society emphasizes 'self-reliance' and is creating environments where even seniors with dementia can work. Some seniors who have spent many years going back and forth between school and workplace desire 'rest' after retirement. However, the sequential life model of learning, working, and inheriting according to a fixed age is undergoing significant change. Let’s explore ways to earn money.

Lee Boram, CEO of Third Age