Entrepreneurs never really retire; they just move on to their next project. Ask Linda Remeschatis, 60, a former prosecutor in Madison, Wis., who turned her passion for local food and art into a second career. In 1998, at age 50, Remeschatis left the public sector to launch her own E-commerce business, Wisconsinmade.com, an online food and gift store selling products made in her home state. Today, she manages five employees, who work either remotely or on the ground floor of her home. The road hasn't entirely been smooth. It took Remeschatis six years to turn a profit selling cheese, chocolate, and art online, and she makes less money and puts in more hours than she did as an attorney. "You don't mind it as much because you are doing it for yourself and for your family and to grow business for our artisans," she says. "And we get to taste-test."

These days, it's boomers--not techie 20-somethings--who most embody the entrepreneurial spirit. Over the past decade, the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity was among people between the ages of 55 and 64, according to a recent study by the Kauffman Foundation. Those between 20 and 34, meanwhile, were the least likely to start businesses. Dane Stangler, a senior analyst at the Kauffman Foundation and author of the study, thinks the number of baby boomers starting businesses during their traditional retirement years is likely to, well, boom. "In 2009 and 2010, we're going to see an increase in necessity entrepreneurship because people are laid off and don't have any other options but to start their own business," he says. "It looks like entrepreneurship may now be another facet of aging in America."

Roughly a quarter of all workers who change careers after age 51 become self-employed, according to an Urban Institute and AARP Public Policy Institute analysis of late-life working patterns. "The more experience you have, the more likely you are going to be successful. You're also more secure financially," says Vivek Wadhwa, a Duke University professor who previously started two businesses and now studies entrepreneurs.

After coming up with the big idea, however, entrepreneurial boomers need to decide where to set up shop. To find places that would appeal to late-life small-business owners, U.S. News used the new Best Places to Retire online search tool to find areas with strong job growth, a low unemployment rate, low business tax rates, and reasonable home prices. Other considerations: an affordable cost of living, proximity to healthcare, and ample recreational opportunities.

Some cities have business incubators, which provide start-up companies with affordable office and lab space and valuable mentorship and networking services, such as the North Dakota State University Research and Technology Park in Fargo or the University of Nebraska Technology Park in Lincoln.

Local colleges are also a valuable resource for entrepreneurs. "There is a wealth of information that you get with a university close by," says Dan McDonald, 57, of Knoxville, Tenn., a retired electrical engineer who started a business X-raying plant root systems, Phenotype Screening Corp., in 2004. Since neither McDonald nor his business partner, Ron Michaels, is a biologist by training, the two frequently consult researchers at the nearby University of Tennessee and the university's Center for Industrial Services about how best to grow plants in the synthetic soil necessary to take theX-rays and to get advice about overcoming plant diseases.

Entrepreneurs should take into account the overall health of the local economy before launching a business. Arlington, Va., and Columbia, Md., both near Washington, are appealing because they offer more access to lucrative federal contracts and a massive number of federal government employees. And at a time when most U.S. cities are hemorrhaging jobs, the Austin and Round Rock, Texas, metro area added approximately 4,200 over the past year--the largest increase in employment in the country.

Tax rates and business incentives vary considerably by location. Fayetteville, Ark., entrepreneurs could benefit from the state's tax breaks for new businesses in industries such as biotechnology, information technology, and nanotechnology. The city of Des Moines has several loan programs specifically for small-business owners. Local tax perks for small-business investors may also make it easier to find venture capital for a start-up.

Many baby boomers have expertise in an industry that can give their business a head start. "You probably have a much larger Rolodex of connections that help you pull together different resources, such as funding and finding customers," says Dan Olszewski, director of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the business school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Starting a business, of course, comes with risk. Only 44 percent of new businesses survive at least four years, according to the Small Business Administration. "I have invested my entire life savings in this business," says Ginny Teel, 60, who bought a Fort Collins, Colo., franchise of 10 til 2, a part-time-job placement service for professionals. Teel works to connect small businesses with people who wish to work part time, mainly retirees and parents. She hopes that the franchise, which she bought in 2006, will turn a profit by its five-year mark. "I thought this was the best option for my retirement because, especially now, our retirement funds are gone or at least in half, and we may have to work a little bit," she says. It's risky to pour your life savings into a new venture, but it's certainly more exciting than the golf course.

 

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(c) 2009 U.S. News & World Report

 

Entrepreneurship Is the New Retirement: 10 great places to start your own business