Guest blogger P. Lorraine Wigglesworth, CSP, is an international
entrepreneurship and marketing consultant and Managing Director of
Experiential Hands-on Learning. She is also the author of The 50-60-Something Start-up Entrepreneur: How to Quickly Start and Run a Successful Small Business. In this second installment of her three-article series, she discusses why entrepreneurs age 50+ have a high success rate.
It may seem like starting young is
the best way to build a successful business, today more than ever. After all,
when you're young you have nothing to lose and a lot of energy to spend, and
since your whole life is ahead of you, you can afford to make mistakes and
learn from them. But starting older isn't bad either. In fact, it turns out
that for many people, starting at 50+ years is even better than starting young.
Yep, you read that correctly.
A Few Illustrious Examples
Some of the world's best-known and
most profitable businesses were started by entrepreneurs past 50. Raymond Kroc
was 52 and driving around the US selling milkshake machines when he started
McDonald's. Pharmacist and physician John Pemberton was 55 when, in an effort
to create an alternative to morphine, removed the "French Wine" from
his French Wine Coca recipe and founded the famous Cola company. Colonel
Harland David Sanders was 65 when he opened a small service station and started
working with franchises, establishing what would later become one of the
world's best-known brands: KFC.
You could say "that was then,
but things have changed." To some extent things have changed, in that it's
now easier than ever for anyone to become an entrepreneur and start a business,
which is why so many entrepreneurs are starting young. But here are some
present-day facts that can inspire anyone past 50 to start a business.
·
Entrepreneurs over
55 are almost twice as likely to build successful businesses than entrepreneurs
aged 20 to 34. This is true even for the highly competitive tech industry,
where young entrepreneurs are thought to have a head start because they grew up
with the Internet and 21st century technology.
·
The highest rate of
entrepreneurial activity in the United States in the last 10 years was
dominated by entrepreneurs aged 55 to 64. There are many reasons for this,
including a new approach to retirement that technology and modern life makes
possible, strong professional connections, and the ease with each almost anyone
can start a business.
·
Startups that
survive are more likely to be led by owners over 45 years of age, according to
a 2004 to 2008 study based on 5,000 startups carried out by the Kauffman Ewing
Institute. No less than 64% of the surviving startups were headed by older
entrepreneurs.
·
People over 50
years of age have a greater potential to create innovative companies, products,
and solutions. This may sound a bit surprising, but innovators do get better
with age. Whether you want to create a startup in an industry you've worked in
before or start afresh pursuing a passion in a new industry, the experience
that comes with being 50+ can be a big advantage.
·
People over 55
years are more likely to launch a high-growth startup than those under 35.
What's more, this doesn't seem to be localized to specific industries, but can
be noticed across the board. Older entrepreneurs have the experience, skills,
and insight necessary for them to guide their venture to success. They can
better manage fears and expectations and have the balance and determinate to
persist in spite of obstacles.
When 50 Is Just
Right
Put together all these interesting
findings and the message is simple: age is not only not an obstacle to becoming
an entrepreneur, but being 50 or older increases your chances of meeting with
success. While this insight won't make the creation of your startup any less
easy, nor will it eliminate challenges, it can be a wonderful incentive for you
to finally create the business you always wanted to have.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/P_Lorraine_Wigglesworth/969794
