When you picture an entrepreneur of a successful, high-growth company, a casually dressed, charming 20-something-year-old may come to mind. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
According to the Harvard Business Review, the average age of people who founded high-growth startups is 45 years old. The same study discovered that the chances of success continue to rise until entrepreneurs reach their late 50s. So, if you don’t think you can be successful as an older entrepreneur, think again.
Some older entrepreneurs believe they don’t possess the vigor and enthusiasm that younger folks tend to have. However, with the right mindset, you can begin a prosperous startup. Your years of work experience, personal connections, and wisdom have set you up to succeed.
Check out our guide on how to be a successful entrepreneur.
Know That Now is an Ideal Time to Build a Business
Most people in their 50s and 60s have shifting obligations. In a majority of cases, they have completed goals like getting married, raising children, buying a home, and saving some money for retirement. The distractions that accompany early adulthood are either gone or significantly reduced by the time you reach your 50s and 60s.
If you have found yourself wondering what’s the next step in your life, you are in the perfect position for starting your own business.
Leverage Your Networks
This adage rings true: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. As an older person, you have had the time to build valuable connections. Now is the perfect time to leverage your networks.
Capitalize on your connections with friends, family, colleagues, and old bosses. Consider their wisdom and advice when it comes to launching your small business. Capitalize on any assistance they have to offer. They may be able to set you up with a meeting with an investor or help in another way.
Don’t Be Afraid to Partner with Someone
Understand your strengths and weaknesses. You may have the leadership skills to carry a business a long way, but you may lack some of the technical knowledge needed.
In any case, don’t be afraid to partner with someone. Find someone you get along with, who has similar goals as you, and whose values align with yours. Depending on each of your financial circumstances and time commitments, determine if your partnership will be an equal split or if someone will have more ownership than the other.
Depending on what you need, partner with someone around the same age as you or find someone younger who can bring in a different perspective.
Make Sure to Take Care of Yourself
If you have found yourself caught up in the grind of building your business, it can be easy to neglect self-care. However, if you don’t meet your own personal needs, you won’t be able to dedicate the right energy and enthusiasm to your company.
With this in mind, be sure to take care of both your mental and physical health. It will improve your performance at your job.
For example, if you’re on your feet all day, invest in the proper footwear. According to footwear expert Brian Bradshaw from Boot Bomb, a lot of adults experience an increase in foot size by the time they reach 40. This eventually happens to everybody, due to a combination of aging, gravity and time. This can have ramifications for your stance as well as your gait. It’s best to postpone it as much as you can.
Brian says: “When mother nature and father time conspire against you, you don’t stand a chance. But you can postpone the inevitable by wearing supportive footwear. Every year of extra time that you can buy yourself will be worth it in the end. We all take it for granted that we can stand and walk upright. But one day you will consider this a luxury that you never knew you had. It’s time for people to start taking their foot health seriously.”
We can all learn from this. Listen to your body’s changing needs and set aside the time and resources to keep your health the number one priority. Without it, you have nothing.
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