There is nothing like I am late, as there is never too late to start up a business. Don’t let fear of the unknown take over your life. Don’t let it be a determining factor in what you would like to achieve. Don’t let it stifle your dreams. You can achieve what you want and live the life you desire.
With so much talk of young entrepreneurs and start-ups these days it’s easy to get the perception that this world is only intended, and indeed suited, to the young. However, remember that there is never too late to start up a business. When people speak of entrepreneurship these days they often talk of tech firms like Facebook, Airbnb, Uber and WeWork – most global giants all started by relatively young individuals.
However, the reality is that these represent just some of the successes in the business world and do not necessarily paint the whole picture. In the fact in the UK only a few years back (2014) figures from the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise suggested that there were 1.75million over 50’s who were classified as self-employed – some 42% of the total – in the U.K. 1.4 million were between 50 and 64 with approximately 375,000 in the 65 and over bracket.
This picture underlines the fact that it is truly never too late to start a business venture and it is not the reserve of the young. In fact those with 20-30 plus years of experience in a particular sector maybe best placed to find new and innovative ways to service it.
This should be particularly encouraging to those nearing retirement, those already in retirement or even for those contemplating throwing it all in, retiring early and starting out on their own. It is in these cases where your advanced age and superior back catalogue of experiences to draw upon can be used to your advantage.
Alternatively they may be able to leverage the significant experience they hold from a given sector to offer services and products to a customer segment they are highly familiar with. Though being part of a segment doesn’t necessarily mean you understand the needs more than anyone else, it can certainly provide you with an insight into the kinds of issues you may be able to solve for your potential target audience.
Anyone remotely familiar with new businesses will know a significant proportion of them fail within the first few years. This is partly due to the fact that owners can sometimes be too optimistic with their projections and attempt to bite off far more than they can chew. Though it may seem cynical, with years of experience and a few disappointments thrown into the mix, those in the over 50 bracket are likely to be more realistic with their projections. Admittedly this may not guarantee success, it can hardly hurt.
Though you may worry about funding for your potential business when you are potentially solely reliant on a pension income, you would be surprised at how many avenues there are today for raising funding (more on that in another post to follow).
If you are determined enough, there is always a way – what should be clear to all regardless of age, is that it’s never too late to start-up a business.
