Sheersho Zaman
The world of entrepreneurship is no longer exclusive to the young up-and-coming and the industry veterans. Recently, a large number of people over the age of 50 have started to set up their own businesses, once they have realized their own potential to make it a success.
These first-time entrepreneurs over the age of 50 (called “olderpreneurs”) have the advantage of having several life skills that they have gained over the many years they spent in their respective workplaces. Not only that, but they are also optimally utilizing the opportunities presented to them by the internet, meaning that their businesses can be started on a small scale, but effective way.
In current times, there are almost 1.8 million self-employed people who are over the age of 50. This is 21 percent greater than the numbers on 2008. Further probability shows that 1 in 5 people over the age of 50 is self-employed and this is a higher proportion than any other age group.
These businesses being started by this older age group covers a wide range of areas, starting from printing to tea shops or even theatre. There are also businesses covering more advanced newer age technology and communications. These olderpreneurs have a certain set of advantages over the usual younger people when starting a business. For one, they have a wide array of skills, knowledge and contacts, which they have raked up over the years they spent working. They also have the confidence and frame of mind to go through tough situations that are presented to them. They also are likely to have more money available to invest into their business to get it going.
Even statistics show that these older entrepreneurs are more likely to be successful than the ones starting out at a younger age. According to a survey, as much as 70 percent of business started by olderpreneurs last for at least five years, while only 28 percent of those started by younger people last as long.
It is much better to encourage more over-50 year olds to start their own businesses since they face difficulty in getting paid employment and since their career opportunities are becoming scarce.
Regardless of this, the government and other organizations have still focused their efforts in encouraging the younger generation to start businesses instead.
There is good news in that there is an increasing amount of support and visibility available for these olderpreneurs which is helping them set up their businesses.