1. Foter Image
It’s Never Too Late To StartYour Own Business
Without question, starting a new business can be a scary proposition, especially
for the older entrepreneur. Of course, it doesn’thelp that the business
community sees anyoneover 40 as too old and devoid of new ideas. But older
entrepreneurs know the benefits for starting a business can be many, such as
being in chargeof how the company is run, seeing a great idea come to fruition as
well as enjoying the personal financial rewards thatcould enhance their
retirement funds. And while there can be negatives, such as finding that unique
niche in the marketplace, or having enough capital and practical business
experience to get it started, research shows thatolder entrepreneurs are in an
excellent position to be justas successful, if notmore successful, than their
younger counterparts.
Investors MoreInterested In Younger Entrepreneurs
Investors (or venturecapitalists as they’realso called) tend to seek out companies
with the bestpotential to bring something new to the marketplace. A lot of time
they see this in people in their 20s, 30s, or even younger. They like the
entrepreneurial spirit of younger people who are not intimidated by the risks
usually associated with starting a new business, who havelimited responsibilities
(they are college students or even younger) and can devote a lot of time to their
new business, and who often don’trequire a lot of funding to get started. In fact,
one venture capitalist, Peter Thiel, has a programcalled “20 under 20” wherehe
offers $100,000 to encourageyoung entrepreneurs. His belief, as well as that of
most venturecapitalists, is that innovation lies with people under 30 and that

2. people 45 and over are shorton new ideas. But the truth is a large number of new
and successful companies areheaded by people in not only their 40s buttheir
50s, 60s, and even in their 70s.
Older Entrepreneurs Really Do Know More
Is experience really the bestteacher when starting a new business? While people
such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and others started their respective
companies in their 20s and 30s, there is research that illustrates how young
entrepreneurs aren’talways the mostsuccessful. Older people are not only less
intimidated by risks butare more educated about economic factors. In fact, the
average-median age for business leaders in the tech industry is 39 while many
more are 50 and above. Additionally, these leaders all hold MBAs and PhDs and
took less time starting a business than those with bachelor degrees who have very
little practical knowledgeabout the world of business.
Best Time To Start A Business
Foter Image
Like so many things in life, there doesn’tappear to be a specific answer to the
why and when for starting a business. Both younger and older business people
have had success in their respective industries. So what is the one factor that both
these groups of people consider when starting a business? Itmay justbe a matter
of timing. The best time for starting a business appears to be when the industry is

3. justbeginning and has not been realized as viable by leaders in the field. Google is
a primary example of this strategy, and, as a result, they became a dominant
player in the search engine arena. If there is no one else doing what you wish to
do as a business, then startyour business when you can be the mostcompetitive
and you feel armed with the most knowledgeand havethe capital to do it.
Money Is A Factor
Age, experience, or education may not keep you from starting a business, but
money, or lack thereof, might stop you before you even start. No matter where
you are in life, whether you are teenager, a college student, in your 20s or 30s, or
in your mid 40s and over, you need money to fund your business in order to get it
off the ground and be noticed by the world. While teenagers and 20 and 30
something entrepreneurs may be lucky enough to find interested parties to help
them, older people wanting to start a business may encounter a more difficult
path on their journey to entrepreneurship. But older business people, believe it or
not, do haveother positive options.
Financing Options For The Older Entrepreneur
While it would be nice to havethe supportof an investor or enough initial capital
to get your business started, unfortunately, this isn’talways the case. What that
could mean is you might haveto delve into your savings or take out a mortgage
on your home to get your business off the ground. But neither of those options is
overly appealing for older business peoplewho have spent a large part of their
lives working to obtain financial security. A better and, perhaps, morereasonable
option would be to take a small business loan. By using personalassets such as
jewelry, precious metals, and gemstones, you could obtain such a loan through a
company such as Zillidy. Onceyou repay the loan, the assets arereturned and, in
the meantime, your business gets launched. This approach also requires less risk
by minimizing loss to savings or the depreciation of your home. Justas in life,
there are no guarantees your venture will be successful, butthere are ways to
approach a new business in a safe way.

4. Safe Approaches For Starting A Business
Foter Image
Although the failure rate for starting a new business is very high, 50% fold within
the first5 years, and only 1% of new businesses receivefunding froman
interested investor, the older entrepreneur should still not be discouraged from
starting a business. If you havethe financial means in place, one safeapproach
could be to either buy an existing business and improveupon it, or restart it to do
something similar. But the approach mostnew business owners prefer is to take a
chance and recruita group of people who believe in your original business idea.
The positive in this scenario is that you are not alone in facing your new endeavor,
and that the people you bring in to work with you may even contribute financially
to help get your business going.
Conclusion
The thought of starting a new business at any age is challenging, but it could also
be a very rewarding experience. While younger people seem like they have
advantages over older firsttime business owners, thatdoesn’tmean they will be

5. more successful. In fact, agereally doesn’tseem to matter at all. Colonel Sanders,
who was 65 when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a prime example. So what
excites you about starting a new business? Whatscares you? Do you feel more
hopeful about being a firsttime business owner now than beforereading this
post?