Are You Too Old To Be An Entrepreneur?

Are you too old to start something new in your life if you’re over 50 years of age?

I’m specifically talking here about being too old to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and start your own business.

My article today was prompted by a brief article that was shared this morning on LinkedIn entitled “Age just a number in business”.

Author of the article, Dr Valerie Caines, a Lecturer in Human Resources and Management argued that due to age related stereo types and workplace discrimination older workers are becoming motivated to create their own forms of employment.

She also suggests that “more older people are becoming first time entrepreneurs, and this represents one of the fastest growing entrepreneurship segments”.

Are you too old to create lifestyle choices in your older years?

I’ve suggested in a previous post that in fact many Baby Boomers really won’t have much choice about whether, or not to pursue some sort of activity to supplement their income in retirement.

Consider some of the options:

• You can settle for a lifestyle dictated by the amount of your retirement savings and any pension supplement
• Obtain a part time job for some extra cash – the barrier here though is you may be considered too old by many employers!
• Decide to develop the skills and knowledge needed to pursue some type of entrepreneurial activity which potentially can be a significant source of extra income

Age is just a number

Yes it’s true that being an entrepreneur is a high risk activity.

And you may not be surprised that much of society probably thinks that when you reach a certain age you’re too old to get started on becoming an entrepreneur.

Hopefully you’ll agree that age is just a number and there’s absolutely no reason why, if you’re in that older age bracket, or are in fact ‘retired’ from your career that you can can’t create a profitable venture later in life.

Clearly whether you can, or can’t start your own business venture is all to do with your mindset.

The video below has some relevant things to say about whether you’re too old to start a business:

So, Where To Start?

OK – having got over the ”too old” issue where do you start.

Today, thankfully it has never been easier to start your own business thanks to digital technology and the internet.

In another blog article I outlined some of the skills you’ll need to either have, or develop, as well as 10 online business models to consider.

There are many obvious benefits to creating an online business including a very different kind of lifestyle than that dictated by a typical 9-5 job or career. For example:

• You’re not geographically bound – work from anywhere as long as you have a laptop and an internet connection
• Work the hours you choose
• Set up the right way you can automate much of your business so that you don’t need to be hands on all the time
• And…..there’s the possibility of passive income which means you can be earning an income while you sleep

What’s not to like!

There are so many avenues for learning how to do this

Another major benefit in deciding to have an online business is that there is so much coaching and mentoring available to teach you all you need to know.

Do a quick online search and you’ll quickly discover there are literally thousands of entrepreneurial related programs out there to you can join up and learn step by step how to set up your own business.

Among the many such programs I have subscribed to two that I recommend are:

• A premium education coaching and mentoring program in all forms of online business
• A step by step coaching program which teaches how to create and market your own information product

Summary – Are You Too Old To Be An Entrepreneur?

If you need to, or want to learn how to create additional sources of income, regardless of your age, or circumstances, there are boundless opportunities to do so thanks to digital technology and the internet.

Personally, I think many Baby Boomers aren’t going to have sufficient savings for their retirement.

This means either being prepared settle for a subsistence lifestyle forced by living off a social security pension, or realising that you’re not too old to begin developing the mindset and skills of the entrepreneur.