Another high-risk situation taken by more and more older executives is going into business forthemselves. One option is to become a consultant to other businesses and business executives. The market for consultants, however, is only for those older executives who are truly skilled specialists, which companies need but would not, or could not, afford to hire on a permanent or in-house basis. In fact, an entire consulting industry has grown up that hires executives and professionals who are then "farmed out" for short-term assignments with companies who need their high-level skills for a specific project or projects, and for which they are willing to pay premium prices.
To make consultancy work, you must have marketable skills; knowhow and be able to sell yourself and your services; have enough financial reserves to get through the tough beginning states; and produce the results you clients desire when they purchase your services.
Consultancy can be a feast or famine proposition. Even long-established consultants with excellent reputations sometimes have difficulty selling their services. In fact, you must constantly sell yourself. You must be looking for the next contract while continuing to fulfill the current contract. There can be long dry spells between contracts, known affectionately in the trade as being "on the beach." You have to save and allocate funds in expectation of these dry spells.
Still, consultancy-if you are emotionally constituted for the financial ups and downs-can be challenging, exciting and rewarding, especially if you have an opportunity to work with a top-notch consultancy group.
Check out the opportunities thoroughly, though, before choosing this as your full-time profession. Talk to other people who are trying to make a living as consultants. Contact consulting groups and ask to talk to one of the consultants about the problems associated with their work. Another line of work may suddenly be more attractive to you.
You might want to consider a retail business-perhaps turning what was formerly an avocation into an occupation. Let's say that when you reviewed the things that give you the most pleasure in life, your wood working hobby was high on the list. Do your hobbies or favorite pastimes have a business in there somewhere? A surprising number of former executives are making very good livings out of the things they most like to do.
Were you a successful sales representative or sales manager for a major firm? How about becoming a manufacturer's representative for several small manufacturers making compatible lines? If you choose high-quality offerings targeted for the markets with which you are already familiar, you could be off and running in a short period of time, and end up with far greater financial rewards with little in the way of up up-front expenditures. This is one of the fastest-growing segments in the sales area. Currently, many small manufacturing and importing firms are finding that they have larger sales at less cost by using knowledgeable manufacturer's representatives rather than on-staff salespeople. The firms can pay higher commissions because they're not stuck with the fixed costs of benefits or payroll for nonproducing sales staff. But the risk is, of course, greater for you. You have no benefits, other than those you provide yourself. And you have to pay all of the selling costs. There are no nice company expense accounts, company cars or travel and entertainment allowances. On the other hand, you do get to write off most of those costs on your income tax.
Other possible career switches to think about: Do you understand personal computers? Can you install software? Can you train others to use software? Businesses that are going to survive to the 21st century must use computers for more than accounting (payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.) But only 30 to 35 percent of older executives are computer literate. The others need to develop computer skills. You might fill a possible niche bringing innovative computer applications to small businesses. This would involve recommending hardware and software purchases, setting up the hardware, installing the software, providing a few days of initial training, then monitoring progress and supplying help only when requested.
What about a totally different second career, one for which you may have to do additional study and preparation? If you're still not sure after going through all of the self-study and introspection suggested so far, it's time to contact a professional. Take the battery of interest, aptitude and skills tests a professional can provide, then make your choice and set your path. In any event, take advantage of the time you have to learn a new set of skills. And whatever your ultimate decision, make a considered, rational change-not just one because you're sick of your life the way it is. You might not like your new life and career, either.
What about Legal Action to Get Back Your Old Job?
A few years ago, contemplating legal action to regain your job would have been ridiculous. Companies and bosses had almost complete freedom to fire at will, regardless of cause. But recent court cases have made this a whole new ball game, though most of the cases have not been based on age discrimination, but on other factors. Still, if you were with your company more than 20 years and are at least 55 years old -unless you were caught "stealing, coming in late or drunk, or raping the boss's wife,'"then your chances to win a suit against your company may be good. Sometimes, just threatening such a suit, especially if all of your evaluations were positive, might be good enough to get reinstated.
If you still retain a copy of your company's employee handbook, you may want to check to see what it says about employment and about terminations. It may have been written in such a way that it implies an employment contract (although many companies have recently rewritten theirs because of the rash of wrongful firing suits). If you feel strongly about your situation, at least discuss it with a lawyer to determine whether you might have grounds for a suit. You might also check out your rights in the new Employee Rights Handbook (Facts on File) by Steven Mitchell Sack.
The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), covers both working people and those seeking employment who are age 40 to 70. A brief summary of its provisions:
Is it worth it to sue? Maybe, if your suit is not based solely on age discrimination. If you win, the company will have to pay back wages, reinstate you, pay your legal fees and otherwise settle. If the company wins, however (and major companies, at least, consider very carefully every discharge of an older worker to determine if their position will stand up in court), you will still be unemployed and have a big legal fee to pay besides. And should the judge consider your case "frivolous," you may also have to pay a large fine.
Groups and agencies exist who can help you determine whether you have a legitimate case or not. These are the same organizations that help older people who are discriminated against in hiring. Talking to them before you see your lawyer might save you a bundle.
But will the government help you prosecute your company if you have been discriminated against? Notvery likely. The government's record on age discrimination prosecution is dismal. In the Reagan administration and in the Bush administration as well, age discrimination has had a very low priority. Frankly, you would be wasting time and effort, which could better be used looking for a new position in which you would be happier.
In finding a new job, you will ultimately have to answer the major questions-what kind of job to look for, whether to change careers or not, where to look for a new position, whether to try to regain your old job or not-yourself. If you've considered your ego ideal, determined the communications profile of the job you're looking for and compared it with your own profile, and investigated your answers to some of the other questions raised in this chapter, you should at least be ready to make some of these basic determinations now. And you'll be able to engage in a more focused and productive job search.
