Benefits of Starting a Business in Later Life
Have you thought of starting a business recently but shelved the idea because of your age? Why? There are huge benefits to starting a new venture later in life and we’ll explore them here.
Stimulate your Mind
Even if you’re now receiving a comfortable pension, you may have a feeling of ‘being on the shelf’. Some people are fully satisfied with having more time to be sociable and taking up hobbies. Others can feel that their life lacks EDGE and a sense of achievement.
Additional Income
Always useful, especially as the cost of living is rising. You could work towards increasing your nest egg or, If this is not a major concern, any profit can be put towards a charitable cause. Or indeed the business itself could be a charity where you not only witness the achievements, but feel pivotal in benefitting the lives of others.
The Best Time
Juggling work and children can be exhausting, especially these days when we’re all expected to work 24/7. When we are running a business and a young family, we can find ourselves working at midnight when the kids are sleeping and taking calls on your cell phone in the middle of sports day events. Add to that our spiral of guilt. Not enough attention given to our offspring and not enough time devoted to growing our business.
Starting a business later in life wins on two counts. Firstly, we have more clear time to devote to our business. Secondly, we are old enough and wise enough to have learned to create a work-life balance. Or at least we SHOULD HAVE learned to create a work-life balance.
Excuses We Can Make for Not Starting a Business
I’ve never run a business before
Let’s face it, living is just one big business. You’ve either learned skills from being in employment or you’ve raised a family. Bringing up children and running a household needs a plethora of skills even though we may feel that they have not been fully appreciated as ‘work’ by society. We all need to manage our own finances and organise our lives. If we hone these elements and are prepared to learn then we can do anything.
I don’t want to stay in the same line of work
I once heard a wealthy entrepreneur say you should change your line of work every ten years to avoid becoming stale. Excellent advice. Yet it doesn’t mean we lose or forget all the skills we’ve gained during our previous employment or enterprises. We can build on what we know.
I don’t know how long I’ve got
Turn this around. You don’t how many fallow years lie ahead of you. Wouldn’t you like to fill them with activity and purpose? Even if you want to look ahead to some relaxing years you can set yourself a period of time for work on this project, weave in some you time, and set a deadline for when you plan to relax more fully.
I want more free time
Do you want more free time or ALL free time? Retirement suits some people, but time can hang heavy for others. If you’re your own boss, you can determine how much or how little you work. This is not necessarily easy, and you will need a rod iron discipline to avoid being overtaken by the business if it gets busy. But it IS achievable. Remind yourself – YOU are the boss, and you’ll determine how much or little you want to work.
10 People Who Were Over 50 When They Started Successful Businesses
We hear about the young and trendy entrepreneurs but overlook people who started a business in later life.
Carmen Hijosa – Piñatex – 60
Carmen Hijosa was 60 years old in 2013 when she founded Ananas Anam, creating an environmentally friendly alternative to leather – Piñatex – a textile made from pineapple leaf fibres. This new technology required a large amount of investment which she managed to secure across five rounds of funding applications. She’s since won many awards for innovation and creativity.
Leo Goodwin – Geico Insurance – 50
In 1936 Leo Goodwin decided to open his own insurance company with his wife, Lillian. Together they created the Government Employees Insurance company. These days Geico is one of the largest insurance brands in the US.
Harland Sanders (Colonel) – Kentucky Fried Chicken – 62
Colonel Sanders was 62 when he was working in a small service station in Kentucky that burned down. He rebuilt it as a motel and restaurant where he started serving his special friend chicken recipe. He turned Kentucky Fried Chicken into a franchise in 1952 and sold it 12 years later for $2 million.
Ray Kroc – McDonalds – 52
Ray Kroc was a food mixer salesman when he came across a hamburger shop in San Bernardino, run by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Kroc was impressed by the quality of the food and business systems and bought the business in 1954 which he turned into a franchise. Within three years it had sold its 100 millionth McDonalds burger.
Bernie Marcus – Home Depot – 50
Marcus was fired from his chairmanship of a large home improvement centre in 1978, so he was no stranger to the business. But losing his job acted as impetus for him to start his own business so, on turning 50 he, and his business partner Arthur Bank started Home Depot, now the largest home-improvement retailer in the US.
Wally Blume – Denali Flavors – 54
In 1989 Blume founded Denali Flavors, which creates speciality ice creams for smaller dairies around the US. Although he had worked in the dairy industry for 35 years, it was still a leap of faith when he used up all his savings to start the company. The business is still highly successful today.
Arianna Huffington – Huffington Post – 55
Born in Greece Huffington moved to England when she was 16 and went on to study at Cambridge. Very articulate, and with a great sense of poise, she was a successful writer and political commentator in the US for several years. In 2005 Huffington co-founded the digital media publication Huffington Post which was sold to AOL in 2011 for US$315 million.
Chaleo Yoovidya – Red Bull – 61
Chaleo, from a modest Thai Chinese family, started his career working in pharmaceuticals. In 1976 he invented an energy-boosting beverage called Krating Daeng in Thailand. He then went into partnership with Austrian, Dietrich Mateschitz, in 1987 and the international version of Red Bull was launched. When he died in 2012 at the age of 88, he was listed as the third-richest man in Thailand.
Tim and Nina Zagat – The Zagat Survey – 51
Nina and Tim Zagat were both 51 year old lawyers when they compiled a small restaurant guide, primarily for New York City. The first print run of the guide was 7,500 copies; this progressed to 40,000 copies two years later and, over the years, grew to incorporate hotels, clubs and stores. Although it’s still popular in book format, other online formats have come into play, such as Trip Advisor.
Taikichiro Mori – Mori Building Company – 51
Mori was a Japanese professor working in academia for most of his adult life although he was an astute investor in real estate. It was while working at Yokohama City University that he founded the Mori Building Company. In 1959 he became president of the company. In 1992 Forbes ranked Taikichiro Mori as the richest man in the world with a net worth of US$15 billion.
