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Entrepreneurship can seem like a young person’s game. When you’re young, you have the freedom to fail and more time to recover from unsuccessful ventures. Meanwhile, as you get older, you tend to become more averse to taking risks.
However, there are several reasons you should consider starting a small business no matter what your age is. From valuable knowledge and experience that you’ve gained over the years to the financial stability that you’ve established, there are several factors that justify starting a business at any point in your life.
If you’re hesitant about pursuing the business idea that you’ve been thinking about, consider these reasons that make starting a business at an older age a great idea.
You Have More Connections
First and foremost, you likely have established a vast professional network over the years. This network of professional colleagues can be invaluable when starting a new business. Throughout your professional life, you probably have established connections with people in a variety of fields. From attorneys and marketing specialists to contractors and designers, your connections can provide expert advice and services.
Many young entrepreneurs haven’t had the chance to create an expansive network and don’t yet understand the value of networking. As an older entrepreneur, your connections can give you access to many of the resources you’ll need to get your business off of the ground.
You Have More Experience
Of course, one of the biggest advantages of being an older entrepreneur is that you have more experience than younger business owners. Even if you’ve never owned a business before, you still have much more insight into what it takes to run a successful business than you did at 20 years old.
Young entrepreneurs often don’t understand the importance of creating a detailed business plan or developing a budget. Moreover, young business owners generally don’t have much experience with basic tasks such as securing financing or performing market research. Throughout your career and personal life, there’s no doubt that you’ve accumulated a vast amount of knowledge that you can apply to your new business.
See also: Ready for Takeoff: 5 Vital Tips to Launch a Successful Business
It is Easier than Ever to Start a Business
The internet and social media make it easier than ever to start and grow a business. If you have internet access then you have access to a variety of tools to help start and advertise your business.
Website builders like Squarespace and Wix make it easy for amateurs to design and publish a professional website for your business.
Advertising services like Google AdWords and Facebook ads make it incredibly easy and affordable to increase your business’ web presence.
Social media marketing tools like Hootsuite and Buffer let you create and schedule social media content.
These tools, among others, make many challenges typically associated with starting a new business non-existent. As technology continues to improve, it is getting easier every day to start a new business.
Financial Stability
For young entrepreneurs, starting a new business is an incredible financial risk. In most cases, they have to invest much of their own money in addition to having to pay other bills like their mortgage and car payment. Of course, these factors are still present as you get older; however, you are likely much more financially secure that you were in your 20s. You’ve had time to build up your savings and invest your money. As a result, you likely have more money to invest in your business without it being as a big of a risk.
Additionally, your financial stability gives you an advantage with potential investors. Many investors and lenders are hesitant to work with young entrepreneurs due to inexperience and short financial history. Older business owners are generally considered more trustworthy than their younger counterparts. This makes it much easier to secure investments and get loans with better terms as an older business owner.
Also by Justin Song: Break Through These 5 Common Mistakes for Veteran Business Owners
You’ve Had Time to Consider Your Options
As an older entrepreneur, you’ve had more time to consider what type of business you want to start. This is important as finding out what it is that you are passionate about can make you a much more motivated business owner.
Young entrepreneurs often know they want to start a business, but not what kind of business. As you get older, you learn what you care about and what you enjoy doing. As a result, you can create a business tailored to your interests.
Starting a new business at any age is scary. Older entrepreneurs, in particular, are often hesitant to start a new business as they believe their time has passed. However, due to better connections, more experience, financial security, and other factors, starting a business at an older age is often a great idea.
For an even more detailed look into the various growth strategies that could help make your business a success, download the ebook, "9 Tips to Grow Your Business." Achieving business growth is critical to business success over the long term. Learn about these growth strategies in this easily digestible ebook, which includes information on small business funding for veterans.
This communication is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be an advertisement, a solicitation, or constitute professional advice, including legal, financial, or tax advice, nor is StreetShares providing advice on any particular situation.
