Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com March 14, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 27 A decade ago, a retiree or pre-retiree living in our state could plow a significant portion of their investible assets into a municipal bond or some other kind of fixed-income vehicle and reasonably expect to earn 4- to 5-percent returns year after year. However, thanks to the financial crisis and the accommodative Federal Reserve policies that have followed, interest rates are no longer supportive of such a simple approach. While Massachusetts fares better than most states, it's percentage of near-retirement aged residents at risk of poverty is still estimated at more than 20 percent, according to data compiled by the SIPP 2008 and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Add in rapidly escalating healthcare costs, rising life expectancies and the tepid short-term outlook – which is muddled by poor global growth prospects and a strengthening U.S. dollar – and retirement is fast becoming a complex dilemma. 1) Reset your expectations. You've worked hard for decades and planned methodically for retirement, and now the way you envisioned spending it – whether it's as grandiose as buying a new house in a warm-weather spot like Florida or as simple as spending more time with your spouse and grandchildren – has been challenged. Because of the current landscape, many will have to change their expectations for retirement. 2) Be honest with your children, provide tough love. It's commonplace today to see a 60-year old nearing retirement continuing to provide their adult children with financial assistance, from everything to giving them a place to live, to paying bills, to even doling out an allowance. This needs to stop. Save for yourself first, and then focus on your child. Your kids have a much longer runway to recover. 3) Consider working longer. Many pre-retirees, even after the financial crisis, are operating under the assumption that they can and should retire at 62, once they are eligible to collect Social Security benefits. Massachusetts workers tend to retire a bit later than most, around age 65, in part because housing costs in our state are among the highest in the country, according to analysis by SmartAsset. If you're healthy, a better approach is to work until 70.5, the age at which you are required to take a required minimum distribution from your IRA. 4) Be more patient. Despite equities being up dramatically from their crisis-driven lows, millions of American retail investors have spent the last six years plus running in place. That's because when the equity markets cratered in early 2009, fear took over and many got out, only to return when the environment seemed 'safe' again a few years later. In between, they missed one of the greatest market escalations in history, as the Dow soared 52 percent from March 2009 to the end of 2010. This is not your parents' retirement, meaning the days of generating consistent, steady returns from relatively safe and secure fixed income assets are over. With a little expectation-setting and some healthy comprehensive planning, it's still possible to live out your twilight years in relative comfort. n David Borden is a partner at CCR Wealth Management (ccrwealth.com), an independently managed wealth management firm with over $1 billion in client assets in Westborough. By Sharon Day Sharon Day, a Gift Basket Association certified gift designer, is celebrating the 20-year anniversary of her business, Express Yourself Gifts and Baskets, with offices and storefront in Oxford. Contact her at sharon@ expressyourselfgiftsandbaskets.com. 10 Things I Know About... Four ways to prep for retirement in Mass. KNOW HOW 10) Hearts and minds matter. Gifting enhances relationships and fosters customer/employee loyalty. 9) Hit the neuroresponders. Gifting increases top-of-mind awareness on the part of customers and supporters. 8) The value is incalculable. The emotional value exceeds market value of the gift. 7) Money flows both ways. According to an ASI survey, in 2014 companies spent an average of $43 per gift for customers, referral sources and prospects and an average of $50 per gift for employees. Smaller business can scale appropriately. You don't need to break the bank to say thanks! 6) Awesome, not "Awwww…some" Give items high on quality and low on fru-fru. 5) Gemstones? Probably not The gift should be appropriate to the business relationship, not too personal or too lavish. 4) Keep it focused. Main goals are to show appreciation and relationship development. Restrain the urge to slip in the sales pitch. 3) Form relationships. Secondary goals are to generate goodwill and increase brand awareness. There is a difference between selling and doing business. 2) Do your homework. Be familiar with the recipient company's stance on accepting gifts before you send. 1) When not to … Never gift during a bidding process. Y our elevator pitch — also known as an elevator speech — should hook a listener into learning more about your company, but should not give too much information up front. It should be concise but contain enough information to intrigue a client or investor. While highly strategic, it should sound natural. Here are three things to keep in mind when speaking to others about your company for the first time (whether you're in an elevator, or not): Get excited. Listeners won't remember every detail in what you say, but they will remember your tone. "Your pitch should bring a smile to your face and quicken your heartbeat," says an article at MindTools.com, as excitement is contagious. "You could say, 'My company writes mobile device applications for other businesses,''' the article suggests. But a better explanation would be: "My company develops mobile applications that businesses use to train their staff remotely. This results in a big increase in efficiency for an organization's managers." Now that's worth getting excited about. Use those four little words, whatever they may be. As an exercise in keeping your message succinct, Caitlin Hendee, in an article at Boston Business Journal, suggests finding four words that describe your business. And make sure none of those words are shop-talk-type phrases. "Many elevator pitches are technical, jargon-laden and assume that the listener even understands what industry you're in," she writes. In fact, they may not. Practice makes perfect. You have to be comfortable with your pitch in order for it to sound natural and not like a hard sell. Practicing out loud, though it may sound silly, is the perfect way to get your elevator pitch down pat. "If you stumble, that is totally fine; smile and start over," says Dwight Peters at Entrepreneur.com. "You don't want to sound like a pre-recorded program," when it's time to deliver. n 101: EXECUTING STRATEGY >> BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal Business Gifting BY DAVID BORDEN Special to the Worcester Business Journal

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