2% of people under 25 say they would like to have their own business. And we generally assume prominent entrepreneurs as being young. After all, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg were all in their 20s when they founded Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook. So how old are you? Do you think you are too old, possibly to quit your job and start your own business?
Do you feel that at 40 or 50 you lack or will lack the jabbing vigor or ideas to be a successful entrepreneur? You may be right. But this in all probability has nothing to do with your age. If you think that youth itself is the elixir of successful entrepreneurship, you may be mistaken.
Entrepreneurs have to be creative and passionate. These talents do not have an upper limit with age. In addition, experienced workers are focused and absorbed. They are able to use their experience to govern what will and will not work in their field. With the support of a degree in entrepreneurship, skilled individuals can chase their business and entrepreneurship goals with sureness.
It is not too late to be an entrepreneur. In fact, it might be just the correct time. There are many explanations as to why entrepreneurs who are older can achieve success in business. Here are just some of those reasons.
You have an edge
What you have to recognize is that this vision of entrepreneurs being young is nothing but a stereotype. Most people don’t start something of their own unless they are at least forty. Some people don’t even think about starting their own business until they are fifty and have years of expertise.
In fact, it is recommended and the general norm to start your business a little later in life. When you’re young and get into this field, you know nothing. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. You can’t understand and predict your competitors that well and you most likely won’t have sufficient capital.
When you step into the corporate world as a fresher, there are several things you learn. You pick up business tactics, you network with investors, and most importantly, you save up your capital. It is a well-known saying that people become wiser with age. This is true in the case of entrepreneurship. With age, you develop the wisdom that a good businessman needs. With your years of knowledge in the world of corporate, you establish a solid ground and make a place for yourself.
Different Mindsets
When we are young, we have various ideas. Our mind is flowing with fresh ideas every day. We think of every new idea that pops into our mind as a reliable opportunity.
It is when you grow older that you see the bigger picture. Setting up your own business takes more than just making a website. As you grow older, you understand the concepts of business models and leverage. You examine which ones you like and which ones you don’t, and then you move forward accordingly.
More focused approach
When you are in your twenties, you try several things. You venture into a number of diverse fields. Try numerous business ideas and fail at several too.
When you build a start-up in your 30s or 40s, you become more engrossed. You understand the ideas that will have potential in the market and the ones that won’t.
Age is just a number
Always remember that as a businessman, Innovation is everything.
Rather than giving undue importance to age, one should give importance to the mindset. It is your attitude which regulates the choices you should make, not your age. Age is something you can’t control. But your decisions, you can.
You might be in your mid-thirties, leaning behind your office desk and thinking “What if I had started my own business”. You might dismiss the thought the very next second thinking “It’s too late for me now”. This is where you go wrong. It is never too late.
When you take part in a conference for entrepreneurship, you might think you are a misfit in a room full of young and upcoming businessmen. But you must learn to use that to your advantage. It is the outcasts who eventually shine and turn heads.
A wider network
The more you remain in the professional world, the more contacts you make. So, when it’s finally time for you to begin your own business, you will have a huge network of successful professionals.
Young entrepreneurs have to scuffle a lot in this field. They have to put in massive effort to chance upon even the smallest of investments. On the other hand, a professional turned entrepreneur will already have several contacts which he/she has sustained a relationship with for years.
Time to think again!
It is true that there are several young successful entrepreneurs out there. It is true Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook when he was just 19. But it is also true that Charles Flint started IBM when he was 62.
Where you might lack youthful energy, you make up for in experience. You make up so significantly that you will never feel like you’re falling behind. In fact, you will have an edge. So if you are thinking of giving up on your dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur just because of your age, it might be time to think again.
