10 Reasons It's Never Too Late to Start a Small Business

Are you thinking it is too late for your own small business because you are old? Col. Sanders, the founder of “Kentucky Fried Chicken” had a very tough and miserable life before he actually started his own business. He was frustrated and fired from many jobs.

Nevertheless, he had unwavering determination to never give up, and this quality led to his eventual success. In 1952, at the age of 62, Sanders licensed his “Kentucky Fried Chicken”. At present, KFC has over 18,800 outlets in 118 different countries and territories.

Success has no age, it can be achieved by anyone at any age. Based on past history, people who start their own start-up at an older age are more likely to be more successful.

In this article, I am going to list down 10 reasons why older ambitious entrepreneurs are more likely to be successful than younger aspiring entrepreneurs.

In This Article

Here are Reasons It’s Never Too Late to Start a Small Business

Why Its Never Too Late To Start Business

1. You have life experience

Over the years all the decisions that you have taken and all the mistakes you have made helped you to find out what you want. Your knowledge, understanding capability, and patience have escalated to a mature level.

So, at this point in life, you know more about the startup process and have a better comprehension of a business plan, financial plan, and market research. You can now sit down and get your startup started.

2. Connection with powerful people

Networking and connections with people are of utmost importance for your business. It helps your business to grow since more and more people know about your product/service.

Moreover, knowing experienced and experts in various fields (like an accountant, financial planners, market analyst, etc.) can really be beneficial as they can advise you in the process of establishing your startup.

3. Accomplishing realistic goals

Setting a realistic goal based on market research is of paramount importance, and is crucial for the life of the business.

The younger minds tend to set an unrealistic, overambitious goals as they lack the experience of how things actually work in the real world. As a veteran, the process of goal setting, decision making, and future planning comes intuitively as you have been doing it for quite a time now.

This trait can help you make impartial decisions that will help you operate your business in a more efficient way.

4. An advantage with financiers

Venture capitalists seek older entrepreneurs because of their experience and believe that investing in an older entrepreneur’s startup is a better business opportunity.

It is because they are wiser, have a clear vision of the new startup, well organized and professional which increases the probability of the business to succeed.

5. Pursue your passion

Richard Branson says that “Passion is one of the most effective motivators when it comes to launching a business — and often one of the strongest predictors of whether an idea will lead to success.”

Without enthusiasm for your work, it is very likely you will find the initial days of the business very hard and soon give up.

This is the case with young entrepreneurs but older entrepreneurs had enough time to do different things in life, pursue different passions. Hence, they will think of a business idea they love.

6. Valuable knowledge

Albert Einstein opines that “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

Hence age makes you more valuable as professionals because of your experience, knowledge, and expertise to a business. These traits can prove extremely beneficial for your startup business and is more likely to be successful than other startups.

7. Financial stability

Starting a business needs investment. Entrepreneurs in the twenties hardly have enough cash to support the daily operations of the business, thus seeking investors and losing share and control of the business.

Additionally, the investors treat their investment as a loan which can be a potential risk and an unnecessary liability in the initial years of the business. However, if you are starting your business at 50 years, you will have enough money from your savings and job to start your business, handle the daily operations without taking the risk of debt.

Moreover, you might have contacts for funding at a low-interest rate than the bank or other funding options.

8. More startup options

When you’re young, your startup options are often limited because of your knowledge and fund shortage. As a financially stable professional, you have more options available in your arena of entrepreneurship.

You can not only start your own business but also invest in other potential businesses or even start a franchise. The risk factor, workload, and responsibilities are very less and in return, you get a share of the profit.

9. Not afraid of failure

Failure is a part of life. The most valued part of each failure is the lessons you learned in the process. Each failure taught you the significance of being organized, diligent and the need for a backup plan.

Failing a couple of times has eliminated the fear to fail once again as you know why you failed previously. All these can be a powerful reason why older entrepreneurs have an easier start.

10. Believe in yourself

With the experiences you gained, the knowledge you have and with all the contacts, a good business idea can give you an edge over the young entrepreneurs. You have friends and family to support you.

Your children toiling hard to establish a business with you that you envisioned. All these can boost your confidence and motivate you to keep pushing and never give up that lacks in many young entrepreneurs.

To sum up, an innovative business idea, an enthusiastic and industrious team is needed to start a business. It does not matter you were a disappointment when you were in your twenties, this should not stop you to do what you really want in your 60s.

It is never too late. All you need to do is to believe in yourself and take the plunge of starting your business.

10 Reasons It’s Never Too Late to Start a Small Business