Retiree Seeks to Escape the Leisure Life
About a year ago, Sandi Price received exhilarating news from her financial planner: She had accumulated enough cash in her Pacific Bell retirement fund to leave her job as a transport engineer.
“The lump-sum pension, as well as my 401(k), have put me in a position where I do not need to work again for the rest of my life,” Price said.
A leisure-filled future now could be hers. But the 52-year-old Pasadena resident, who prides herself on being industrious and goal-oriented, decided to apply herself to a new career.
After leaving her post last June, Price tried her hand at peddling ad space for a community newspaper. But the cold calls left her chilly, and she abandoned the job just a few weeks later.
Price then contemplated other work options, such as volunteering or returning to teaching (which she’d done 25 years before), but nothing truly excited her.
Suddenly she found herself in a “leisure grind”--spending day after day reading, exercising and relaxing. Sure, to some this may sound like Shangri-La. But for Price, the overabundance of free time grew insufferably dull.
For help in finding meaningful employment, she contacted New York City career consultant Sylvia Floyd.
Price told Floyd she was stymied about the type of work she might find fulfilling. All she knew was that she wanted something that would allow her “a flexible schedule and low stress levels.”
Floyd and Price ultimately determined that Price would be happiest if she could do two things: help others through her communication skills and other talents and find outlets for self-expression, particularly humor.
Floyd then enumerated careers that would allow Price these options. After intense discussion, Price said she found herself most drawn to personal coaching and comedy script writing--two vocations she’d never considered before.
Following are suggestions offered by Floyd and other experts:
* Personal coaching. Price could enroll at institutes such as Coach University in Steamboat Springs, Colo., or Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael, Calif. But before she sinks $3,000 or more into such training, she should find out if the career is a good fit, said Rachelle Disbennett-Lee, a Denver coach.
She could do this by hiring her own coach, who could give her personalized guidance and later refer clients to her, said Talane Miedaner, a life coach based in New York City. And as she develops her own coaching talents, she could offer free sessions to acquaintances to gain experience, Miedaner added.
Price should make certain that she’d be comfortable operating a home-based business, said Karen Bonnett, owner of Life Management Consulting in West Los Angeles. Most coaching is done by phone, so Price should make certain she doesn’t mind working alone for extended hours, Bonnett added.
She also would need to hone her selling skills to hook new clientele. “Coaches are in sales, whether they admit it or not,” said Jim Rohrbach, a Chicago success skills coach. Should she choose to go into this business, she could reach a broad audience by setting up a Web site, creating her own e-zine and penning motivational articles, suggested Virgil Beasley, a coach based in Healdsburg, Calif.
* Comedy writing. Since “jokes are the building blocks of comedy,” Price would need to boost her joke-writing skills if she wants to become a professional comedy script writer, said Gene Perret, who’s written for Bob Hope, Bill Cosby and other notables and is the author of two perennial how-to classics, “Comedy Writing Step by Step” (Samuel French, 1990) and “Comedy Writing Workbook” (Players Press, 1994).
Both books--as well as Melvin Helitzer’s “Comedy Writing Secrets” (Writers Digest Books, 1992)--offer tips that might help Price excel in the art of amusement.
Price could learn comic timing and delivery by taking stand-up comedy workshops, said Fran Capo, creator of a “cybersitcom” called “The Estrogen Files.” One such class, ‘Performing Stand-Up Comedy” is offered at UCLA Extension by instructor Judy Brown.
Most important, Price would have to learn how to write comedy scripts for television and film. Each genre has its own format. Price should next create “spec” scripts to showcase her talents, said Bruce Kirschbaum, who’s written for “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Seinfeld.”
Price should write a TV spec script only for a top-rated, well-known sitcom, said Charlie Rubin, a New York comedy writer whose credits include “Seinfeld,” “Saturday Night Live” and “In Living Color.”
“Agents only know the super hits,” Rubin explained. “And you’re writing to be read [by them].”
Two caveats for Price, however: Stress levels for sitcom staff writers can get sky-high, due to deadlines, production pressures and political squabbles. Because Price says she seeks low-intensity work, she may want to focus on freelance TV script writing.
Also, industry insiders say age discrimination is rampant in the TV sitcom business. Many advise older writers to consider penning comic feature films instead, for there is apparently less age bias on that side of the business.
“TV is a hell of a tough road,” said one established sitcom writer who asked not to be identified. “I would love to see this lady sell a script, but she’s got an uphill battle. By the time you’re 45 or 46, it’s just about all over. . . . There’s just so much prejudice to overcome.”
Nonetheless, a few Hollywood veterans insist that talent, not youth, ultimately earns sitcom jobs.
“I have people of all ages working on the show,” said Phil Rosenthal, creator and executive producer of “Everybody Loves Raymond.” “If [your script] is funny and well-written, you’re going to be hired.”
Should Price craft a fresh, riveting comic script, she might be able to attract the attention of an agent, said Sonya Rosenfeld, an agent with the Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills. Representation is essential for Hollywood script writers.
Price said she’s eager to explore the two career possibilities suggested by Floyd.
“To think that I might get to do some self-expression,” Price mused. ‘After being in the corporate world for so long, this is going to be very refreshing.”
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Time for a Change
Name: Sandi Price
Occupation: Retired transport engineer
Desired occupation: Uncertain
Quote: “Because I can live comfortably, I keep telling myself it would be a shame not to try something I’ve always thought about, but never attempted.”
*
Counselor’s recommendation: Find a career that emphasizes self-expression. Consider coaching (which would allow her to help others) and comedy writing (which would offer her a creative outlet).
Meet the Coach
Sylvia Floyd is a New York City-based career management consultant and coach. She also is an online advisor and editor for the Web site AdviceZone.com, which will launch this summer.
