🎙Package 30 Years of Experience

November 19, 2025

Episode Summary

Here's a statistic that should change how you think about starting over after 55: 70% of ventures launched by entrepreneurs aged 50 and older are still operating after five years, compared to just 28% for younger startups. That's more than double the success rate. Your decades of experience aren't a liability—they're the exact competitive advantage the market rewards. But there's a catch: most experienced professionals never launch because they can't answer one critical question: "How do I package what I know into something someone will actually pay for?"

The roadblock isn't lack of expertise. It's a clarity gap—the disconnect between knowing you're capable and confidently pricing, packaging, and selling your first consulting offer. Self-employment among professionals 62+ has grown from 4.2% in 1988 to 5.4% today, proving this is a real movement. But the professionals who succeed do something specific: they stop treating their knowledge as "obvious" and start treating it as intellectual property. What feels effortless to you after 30 years is someone else's five-alarm emergency. That gap is where consulting fees live.

In this episode, you'll learn the exact framework successful late-career consultants use to turn experience into offers. The Recurring Problem Inventory shows you how to document 5-7 problems you solved repeatedly and transform them into service blueprints. The Consulting Rate Formula removes pricing guesswork with a simple four-step calculation that gets you to a sustainable $175-$225/hour starting range—defensible, profitable, and backed by market data. You'll discover why five validation conversations matter more than websites or business cards, and how to structure three proven consulting packages: diagnostic, implementation, and advisory retainer models that fit your lifestyle and expertise level.

This isn't theory—it's the playbook experienced professionals are using right now to build consulting practices that respect their time, leverage their wisdom, and generate meaningful income. Whether you're exploring consulting as a full second act or testing it part-time alongside retirement, this episode gives you the clarity to move from "I think I could do this" to "Here's my offer and my rate." Your 30 years of experience didn't expire when you retired. It became portable. And the professionals who recognize that are building something remarkable.

Note: This episode is produced using NotebookLM to capture insights and structure powerful storytelling with clarity and depth.

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🌟 About Us - Retirepreneur® is where retirement meets reinvention. Founded by Curt Roese, this platform helps adults aged 55 and above create meaningful second acts through business ventures, flexible work, and purposeful living. https://www.retirepreneur.com/about

#RetirementEntrepreneur #ConsultingAfter55 #SecondActBusiness #FractionalExecutive #Retirepreneur

Episode Transcript

Welcome to another episode of The Entrepreneur Podcast.

I'm your host with this week’s executive summary for busy entrepreneurs building their second-act business. Today’s episode is designed for maximum impact in minimum time, so let’s dive right in.

We’re talking about one of the most critical challenges facing experienced professionals—especially those 55 and older—who want to move into consulting.

It’s that moment where you know you have the skills. You’ve led teams, managed large budgets, and solved complex problems for decades. But the real question becomes:

How do you take all that knowledge and confidently package it, price it, and actually sell your first offer?

And here’s what the data shows: the roadblock for most people is not a lack of expertise.

It’s a clarity gap—and it’s absolutely worth closing. Because this demographic has a real competitive advantage.

Consider this: 70% of ventures started by entrepreneurs age 50 and older are still operating after five years. Compare that to startups launched by younger founders, where the number is closer to 28%. That’s more than double the success rate. The market rewards measured expertise.

You can see this trend in the workforce numbers too. Self-employment for professionals over 62 has been steadily rising, increasing from about 4.2% in the late 1980s to 5.4% by 2015. This is a real movement.
So the opportunity is clear. Now let’s get into the how—how to turn decades of experience into something structured and sellable.

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Insight #1: Blueprinting Your Expertise

This begins with a mindset shift:

The thing that feels obvious to you is a five-alarm emergency for your future client.

What feels effortless to you is the product of years of pattern recognition.

To turn that expertise into an offer, start with a simple exercise called the Recurring Problem Inventory.

Set a timer for 10 minutes and list 5–7 recurring problems that you were always the go-to person for—the problems nobody else could handle as efficiently or as effectively.
Once you have your list, document four specific things for each problem. This turns your resume into a service blueprint:

1. Who struggled with it?
Think about the role, department, company size, or stage of growth.
Not just “I solve communication problems,” but “I solve communication problems for remote engineering teams in hypergrowth.”

2. What made it difficult for them?
Was there a lack of framework? Internal politics? Were they asking the wrong questions?
Identifying the friction helps you position your value.

3. What did you do differently?
This is your method—your steps, your system, your framework.
This repeatable process is what clients are buying.

4. What outcome did you achieve?
It must be measurable: reduced risk, protected revenue, improved efficiency by 15%, etc.
Without tangible results, you look like a cost. With them, you’re a profit driver.

This blueprint becomes the foundation for your offer.
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Insight #2: Pricing With Confidence

Pricing is where many experienced professionals freeze. They guess, undercharge, or worry their rate isn’t justified.

So we use a simple, objective method called the Consulting Rate Formula. It removes emotion and gives you a defensible starting point.

Step 1: Executive Wage Equivalent

What would it cost to hire a full-time senior person to solve this problem?
Let’s assume $150,000/year, which breaks down to about $75/hour.

Step 2: Add Overhead and Burden

Companies don’t just pay salary—they pay payroll taxes, benefits, insurance, and overhead.
We use a standard multiplier: 1.35.
$75 × 1.35 = ~$100/hour

Step 3: Account for Non-Billable Time

Consultants don’t bill 40 hours a week. Proposals, invoicing, marketing, client calls—that’s non-billable.
We use another multiplier: 1.5.
$100 × 1.5 = $150/hour
This is your minimum sustainable rate, not your final rate.

Step 4: Add Profit Margin

You’re a business. You need profit, taxes, and savings. Add another 1.35 multiplier.
$150 × 1.35 ≈ $200/hour

So your sustainable starting rate is $175–$225/hour.

If that sounds high compared to your old salary, remember:

Clients don’t pay for your hour. They pay for the outcome from your blueprint.
Benchmarking supports this:

* Fractional CFOs: $200–$400/hour

* Senior HR consultants: $150–$250/hour

The market is already there.
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Insight #3: Validate Before You Build

Before spending money on logos, websites, or an LLC, validate demand through conversation.

You don’t need branding.

You don’t need business cards.

You don’t need a website.

You need five honest conversations with people who match your ideal client profile.

Ask four key validation questions:

1. What’s your biggest challenge right now related to [problem you solve]?
This uncovers real pain.

2. What have you tried so far to fix it?
If they’ve tried nothing, it’s not urgent.
If they’ve tried multiple solutions that failed, you’ve found a live problem.

3. What would change if you solved this?
This gets them to articulate the ROI.

4. Would outside expertise help here?
Then listen carefully.

* Polite interest: “Interesting idea.”

* Real interest: “When could you start?” “What would something like this cost?”

Two signals out of five conversations = validated demand.

Your first project—paid or even pro bono with a killer testimonial—becomes the seed for a repeatable package.
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Three Reliable Consulting Packages

Once validated, most new consultants use one of three offer structures:

1. Diagnostic Package
A 2-week roadmap or assessment.
Low-risk entry point for clients.
Typically $5,000–$15,000.

2. Implementation Package
You execute the roadmap.
Fixed-fee or milestone-based.
Often $10,000–$50,000+.

3. Advisory Retainer (Fractional Executive)
Part-time strategic guidance.
$3,000–$10,000/month for a few hours per month.

To describe what you do, use this simple formula:

“I help [WHO] solve [WHAT PROBLEM] so they can [RESULT].”

Example:
“I help scaling companies implement project management frameworks so initiatives finish on time.”
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Your Action Plan for This Week

Do these three things:
1. Pick one problem from your recurring problem inventory.

2. Have three conversations with people who resemble your ideal client.

3. Listen more than you talk and document their exact words.

The market will tell you what to build—if you start asking.

That’s your executive briefing for this week.

If you found value in these insights, share this episode with fellow Retirepreneurs and subscribe to the Retirepreneur newsletter at Retirepreneur.com.

Your most successful chapter is just beginning.

Until next week—keep building.

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🎙Package 30 Years of Experience

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