David Squires

Try This Idea: The One-Year Retirement

Published

11 years ago

September 4, 2013

David Squires

MOST OF US have similar career arcs — we spend the first 25 years of our lives learning, the next 40 or so working, and then the final 25 in retirement.

Designer Stefan Sagmeister suggests eliminating five years from your retirement and scattering those years throughout your working career. So, every seven years, he closes his design business and does something different — travels, lives in a new place, experiments with new projects.

Could you do the same? Obviously, shutting down completely isn’t an option for most jewelers. But it may be possible for more jewelers than you imagine. Could you perhaps serve just your best customers by appointment for a year? Could you train and build the skills of a manager to the point where your business could run without your presence for a year?

Think about it. It could change your life.

(Anybody ever do anything like this? Share.)

You Wouldn’t Cut Your Own Hair. Why Run Your Own Retirement Sale?

After being in business for over a quarter of a century, Wayne Reid, owner of Wayne Jewelers in Wayne, Pennsylvania, decided it was time for a little “me time.” He says, “I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s time to slow down, enjoy a lot of things outside of the jewelry industry. It just seemed to be the right time.” He chose Wilkerson to handle his retirement sale because of their reputation and results. With financial goals exceeded, Reid says he made the right choice selecting Wilkerson to handle the sale. “They made every effort to push our jewelry to the forefront of the showcases,” he says, lauding Wilkerson for their finesse and expertise. Would he recommend them to other jewelers who want to make room for new merchandise, expand their business or like him, decide to call it a day? Absolutely he says, equating trying to do this kind of sale with cutting your own hair. “The results are going to happen but not as well as if you have a professional like Wilkerson do the job for you.”