Business Success After 50
Over
50 years old and think it's too late to start a business? Think again!
Many people are finding that the business opportunities for older entrepreneurs are better than ever. After all, you've got all that hard-won wisdom and experience, your more than likely on sound financial footing, and owning and operating your own business can be a fun, exciting alternative to a traditional retirement.
According to one recent study, there are now over 5.6 million people over 50 who are currently self-employed, which is a 23% increase from 1990. And these numbers are only going to grow as Baby Boomers look for more financial security, flexibility, and career satisfaction.
This trend shouldn't come as a surprise. Unlike their parents, most Baby Boomers aren't in line for a traditional pension from the companies they work for. Also consider the fact that today people are living longer and staying more active into their later years. Many Boomers have the energy, drive, and finances to start their own businesses and see them through from startup to success.
Consider business opportunities carefully
While there are certainly a variety of great business opportunities out there,
you need to consider your options carefully, and don't rush into anything.
Caution is important, as older entrepreneurs face more risks than their younger
counterparts
Some things to consider:
- If you're 50+, your main source of capital may be money you've invested
for retirement. Be very wary of using this money to launch a new business
venture, or you may find your golden years to be anything but.
- If the new business venture fails for some reason, not only could that be emotionally devastating, but recovering financially from such a set back at that age would be difficult.
One way to counter these risks is to consider buying either an established business, or a franchise. One positive that established businesses have is their track record; you can easily find out how much money they made the past few years, how many established customers and clients they have, what kind of seasonal ups and downs they've experienced, etc. And someone else has put in all the time and effort to get the business past those critical first two years, so you won't have to.
Similarly, a franchise tends to be a less risky investment than a brand-new start-up because the whole idea behind a franchise is that the franchisor has developed a success system that you can duplicate. Plus the parent company will have name brand recognition and will have spent a lot of advertising money to get that name out into the public's awareness.
In either case, the critical thing is to do your homework before buying – talk to the business' customers and employees, talk to other franchisees in the system, talk to their suppliers and vendors, and so on.
Some additional points to consider
Alternatively, if you do want to start a business from scratch, keep these
pointers in mind:
- Choose something you already know: if you're
determined to become a successful entrepreneur later in life, you probably
don't want to waste a lot of time learning entire new industries. Instead, pick a
product or industry that you're already familiar with -- or one you could
learn in a short period of time.
- Choose something you enjoy: the last thing you want to do as an older
entrepreneur is get involved with something that's just going to turn into
drudgery after a few months or years. If you're going to choose a business
to start, choose one that you'll enjoy doing on a daily basis, and that will
keep you motivated and engaged for the long haul.
- Choose something that's needed: some new
entrepreneurs choose a business based on something that they would like or
want. A more sound approach is to do your homework and choose a product or
industry that a whole bunch of people would like or want. And if
there are other competitors, that's usually a good sign that people are
actually spending money on that product or service.
- Keep learning. In today's business world, things are
changing very rapidly, and if you're not careful, your entire business model
can become obsolete before you realize what hit you. So keep up on new
technology, keep up on developments in your industry, keep up on trends in
the overall economy.
- Don't mortgage your home or cash out your retirement savings. With today's technology, there are many home business opportunities that don't cost a fortune to start. You can start off small, in your spare time, then add on as the business grows over time.
And lastly, don't be afraid to fail. Many people become paralyzed
with fear and wait for the perfect opportunity to come around, which of course never does.You can expect to hit bumps in the road, and everything
won't always go as planned, but if you learn from your mistakes and stay
focused, there's no reason you can't build a successful small business at any
age.
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