Hey, it's Curt.
In today's issue:
The "Still Building" name means more to me than most people know. I'll tell you why.
If you are still employed and think the prep work has to wait until after you leave, this week's article will change that.
A Forbes contributor makes the case that purpose does not expire at 65 and the data behind it is worth a few minutes of your time.
And more...
Keep Building!
Quick Hits
📌 This week — This issue covers the quiet preparation work that experienced professionals can do right now, before leaving their jobs, to be ready for consulting the moment the opportunity arrives. If you have ever wondered when to start building, this is your answer.
💡 The insight — The professionals who land consulting work in the first 90 days after leaving do not get lucky. They spent the previous year building the infrastructure quietly, before anyone knew they were building at all.
🎧 Listen — This week on the podcast: the pre-launch preparation framework, broken down in audio. Worth a listen if you are still employed and wondering where to start. Find it at 👉 retirepreneur.com/podcast
🔍 Explore Further — Forbes: "Why You Shouldn't Retire: Purpose Doesn't End at 65" — The piece challenges the very word "retire," pointing out that its original meaning is withdrawal and receding, and that the age-65 standard was set in 1935 when average male life expectancy was just 58. For professionals building a second act, the argument that purpose has no expiration date is worth reading in full. 👉 Read it here
🔨 Still Building
Before I was a CFO, I spent ten years as a custom home builder. What I loved most was not the construction itself. It was being deeply involved in the design process, watching something take shape from a blank lot into a finished home that someone would live in for decades.
My partner and I built several homes that won awards during those years. Looking back, what made that work satisfying was the same thing that made the financial reporting work satisfying later: there was a tangible, valuable final product at the end of it. A home. A dashboard. A set of KPIs that actually changed how a company made decisions.
That pattern is what eventually led me here. This past Friday, I started building (aka vibe coding) the Retirepreneur platform in a more serious way, and we already have the shell and the first product in place. More on how that is coming together in a future issue.
Still Building
Curt
📰 Featured Story
The Silent Pre-Launch
Your company announces a restructuring and your VP stops by your office. "We'd love to keep you on as a consultant," he says. You smile, say you're interested, and go back to your desk with nothing ready.
That conversation happens more than most people expect. The professionals who turn it into a signed contract are the ones who spent the previous year building quietly, before anyone knew they were building at all.
The Strategic Foundation (Start Here, Before Anything Else)
Most people think the first step is a website or a business card. It isn't. The first step is getting clear on exactly what you're offering, to whom, and why they'd pay for it over anyone else.
Do this work on paper before you tell a single person what you're planning.
→ Run your own WHY/WHAT/HOW analysis: why you're doing this, what specific expertise you're monetizing, and how you'll deliver it
→ Define your target client in concrete terms: industry, title, and the specific problem they're paying to solve
→ Choose your primary delivery model and commit to it for now
→ Draft a one-page business model canvas: who you serve, what you deliver, how you price it
None of this requires a logo or a domain name. It requires an honest afternoon and a willingness to make some decisions.
"The professionals who land work in the first 90 days don't get lucky. They spent the previous year building quietly."
The Legal and Financial Setup (One Afternoon, Lasting Payoff)
This is the work that separates a professional in transition from a person between jobs. It takes less time than most people think, and it signals seriousness to every future client, including your current employer.
Do it before you need it, not after the opportunity appears.
→ Form your LLC (or consult your CPA on entity choice first, the decision matters more than most people realize)
→ Open a dedicated business checking account before you have a single dollar of revenue
→ Set up Wave for bookkeeping from Day One, free to start and built for exactly this situation
→ Draft a simple proposal template now: scope, deliverables, timeline, and fee structure
Having a proposal ready to send within 24 hours of a conversation is a competitive advantage most people in transition don't have.
The Positioning Work (What Makes the Transition Look Inevitable)
This is where most professionals underinvest, and it's where the gap between a smooth transition and a scramble becomes obvious. Positioning work is not about writing a bio. It's about knowing your value precisely enough to state it without hesitating.
Start with the evidence you already have.
→ Document your five biggest career wins with specific outcomes and dollar amounts attached
→ Identify your ideal first client. Your current employer is often the strongest candidate and the shortest path to initial revenue.
→ Calculate your monthly number: what consulting income actually covers your income gap
→ Practice the pitch out loud so the first real conversation doesn't feel like the first one
The goal is not to have everything perfect before you leave. The goal is to walk out the door looking like you've been doing this for months.
Because by then, you have.
The full version is at retirepreneur.com/blog — more depth, more context, fully searchable.
🕰️ Remember When
🔓 Inside the Hub
The Hub has several resources built specifically for professionals who are still employed and quietly preparing for what comes next. One of them is directly relevant to this week's article.
The simplified one-page proposal document gives you a clean, professional starting point before you have ever written a consulting proposal. It covers scope, deliverables, timeline, and fee structure in a format you can customize and send within 24 hours of a conversation.
That document alone can be the difference between a verbal offer turning into a signed contract or quietly fading away. It is free, no credit card required, and ready to use today.
➡️ Join Free
🎯 Next Steps
Your Move
Pull out a blank document this week and write down your five biggest career wins with specific numbers attached. If you cannot produce five in 30 minutes, that is the work that needs to happen before anything else does.
Go Deeper
If you are newer to the Retirepreneur community, the best place to start is the four-part video series that walks through the foundation of building a second-act business: why experienced professionals have a real advantage, what specific expertise you can monetize, and how to choose the right delivery model for your situation. Find the full playlist here 👉 Watch the Series
💬 Something to Sit With
🤝 Share Retirepreneur
If you got something useful from this week's issue, the best thing you can do is share it with one person who needs it.
No pitch required. Just forward it. Every person who finds this community makes it better for all of us. Thank you in advance, it is very much appreciated!
Curt Roese, CPA
Founder, Retirepreneur | Former CFO
M.S. Entrepreneurship, University of Florida
Building Retirepreneur in real time at 63. Still building.