10 Reasons Your 50s are the Perfect Time to Start a Business 

More women own their own businesses than at any other time in history, a whopping 7.8 million businesses as reported in the 2010 Census. A growing percentage of those businesses were started by women over the age of 50.

If you think a start-up means starting over and is best left to millennials, you might want to reconsider. Your 50s are an ideal time to start your own business. You know your own mind, you have decades of varied experience, you no longer place significant value on what other people think, and most days, you feel like you have nothing to lose.

Experience
Face it. You have so much experience in a variety of areas that you can no longer fit it all onto a single page resume. As an entrepreneur over 50, your experience provides you a significant advantage over the 30-something’s start-up.

Established Network
Your network is your net worth—you’re rich! All those years networking in your industry add up to hundreds, even thousands, of contacts. Even the people you didn’t do business with, but with whom you rubbed elbows at events, could be valuable to your new business.

Be Yourself
You’ve earned the right to be yourself every day at work. At your own company, you make the rules. And at 50-ish, women are less afraid to take risks because they know they can handle anything that comes their way.

More Time
In your 30s and 40s your calendar was bursting at the seams with activities. You had to juggle career-building functions, weekly activities for your children: open houses, sporting events, piano lessons, PTA bake sales, and chorus concerts, and date nights with your significant other.

Your 50s, and a potentially empty nest, mean additional free time on your hands. You don’t have to join a club to have something to do. Start a business instead.

Available Assistance
The U.S. Small Business Administration offers online courses, webinars and Women’s Business Centers around the country to support you in the preparations, planning and marketing of your new venture. The Women’s Business Centers offer face-to-face assistance close to where you live and build your business. Add to these options the plethora of women’s business support and networking groups in various industries, and you have a team of experts to turn to for advice.

Money to Invest
By your fifties, you might have paid off your mortgage, saved a decent nest egg, and seen some excellent returns on your investments. Use a small portion of your savings to start a home-based business and watch it grow. If you do need to take out a loan for start-up costs, your age and credit history make you a better risk to the bank than most 20 somethings.

Begin with Little Capital
Consider all the business options that require very little capital to get started. You can consult within the in which you were previously employed. Utilize your inside knowledge of an industry to assist other companies with freelance social media and marketing content. Offer services that overlap with the industry in which you built your career, for example, if your career was interior design, consider home staging for the local real estate community. Start an online business for anything from blogging to product sales.

From Hobby to Vocation
Do you love to travel and have experience planning events? You can start a group travel business and travel with your groups after organizing their travel and activities. Turn your jewelry-making hobby into an internet jewelry sensation.

Keep You Mentally & Physically Fit
Who said you need to “grow old”? Starting a business in your golden years is a fantastic way to stay young and current. Your business will encourage you to keep up with business trends instead of keeping up with the latest reality TV show. You will use your noodle to problem-solve daily challenges. The rigors of entrepreneurship might encourage you to make more time for walks to keep fit or for trips to the gym. You will want to stay in shape to keep your energy up.

Freedom
When the office or cubicle feel too constricting and the itch to set your own hours and be your own boss can no longer be subdued by a long weekend, maybe it is time to consider that business plan you dreamt of years ago. Imagine the freedom of building your business from the ground up in your way and on your terms. If your dream is to travel the country, or the globe, for the next decade, building a business you can take with you will set you on the road to living your dream. They have satellite internet connections for that RV, right?

Before you Start, Consider:

• Create a realistic expectation of both the investment you wish to make and the income you need to earn.
• Every successful business begins with a solid business plan. What is the big picture? How will you market your business? What is your earning potential?
• Avoid raiding your retirement investments to start your business.
• Consider buying an existing business or a franchise. A franchise combines the best of both worlds with an established and supportive business that you own and operate