Is it too late to start a business?
Aug 23 2005
Not at all. Research shows that you can be taken very seriously indeed. Surveys have demonstrated that you have a greater chance of success, will work a shorter working week and have longer holidays than younger entrepreneurs. Partly this reflects the fact that most businesses set up by people in their 50s (around 50,000 a year) do not provide their only source of income but supplement another.
The greater chance of success comes about because businesses started by your age group tend to be more self-financed than those of the younger group, perhaps because they are funded by redundancy money, savings or a pension lump sum. One study found that seven out of ten businesses started by the over-50s were still trading after five years, compared with the general survival rate of only five out of ten businesses after four years. Go for it!