What are the keys to success in becoming a mid-life entrepreneur?
Many Boomers say they want to leave corporate life behind for entrepreneurship of one type or another. If you've made the move, I'd like to hear about the lessons learned along the way? What's the best way to prepare for starting a business while you're still in an employee role? What are the risks and pitfalls new entrepreneurs should look out for?
Good Answers (8)
Undergoing such turmoil (40 yo, 4 kids, mortgage to pay, no 401k plan, etc.), the best advice I could give anyone is that if you are about to take the plunge, do no hesitate and dive head-first. Cut the corporate string in 1 move and step into it.
Over-rationalizing the facts can only burden your mind with more fear about the future. Also, the sooner you act, the more time you'll have to recover from a potential pitfall.
Many people make this move because they have found that Corporate life has "de-humanized" ourselves. If this is your case, then my other advice is that whatever your new endeavor will be, try to make it as much fun and exciting for you. At this stage, it makes no sense to be the entrepreneur of something lukewarm to your heart. You should be happier, joyous and satisfied in doing whatever is that you will do.
Finally, think about your personal purpose in making the move. Do not make the mistake to compare with your previous job. Let your loved ones answer that for you.
I wish you the best.
Jason Y
Founder, Yeloweb, Inc. (www.Yeloweb.com)
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I like the enthusiasm of the other answers, but do not agree. Most businesses fail, pure and simple. I am a born entrepreneur and have still had more failures than I like to admit before I hit it big. Most corporate people are not cut out for entrepreneurship as it demands a set of skills not often required in the corporate world. If you really believe you have the stuff, please make sure you have a good nest egg set aside for your family that you agree not to touch no matter how tough things get with the new business. I suggest striving for profitablity as soon as humanly possible, ideally on the first day of the new business. Many "entrepreneurs" spend lots of time on the fun stuff...brainstorming, dreaming, picking out office space and decorations and only realize AFTER they blow their start up money that they need real paying customers. By then, it's often too late. Therefore, allot yourself LESS start up capital than you otherwise might. It will force you to get paying customers sooner rather than later. Also, make sure to read any employment agreement with your existing company to see if they would have rights to your idea if you start it while working for them. If so, better to quit first, and then hustle with your new plan. Best of luck!!!
Making the change from corporate employment to entrepeneur at midlife must be accompanied by the same intelligence that got you into corporate positions in the first place: establishing useful networks and having a clear idea of how you can productively spend your time using the skills you have within you. For the boomer I would recommend that you first generate some potential for continuity before you leap (e.g. a service, skill or contract that you can take with you in some form or another). Studies have shown that continuity in work and personal networks are the hallmarks of succesful career transitions after 55. Best of luck!
Elizabeth B
Director of astrology website www.itsinthestarsonline.com, and freelance editor/marketer
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First off, you can never have enough money stashed away! So don't resign until you've proven your business with some initial sales. And when you resign, do it nicely so you don't burn your bridges.
Since Rome (or any business) isn't built overnight, I'd suggest an employee planning to start a new business occasionally uses 1-2 days of holidays while they're setting up their business as they will need it for meetings with their lawyer, accountant, business coach, web developer, printer, graphic designer, PR agency etc and try to book block appointments. Not many people are available on Saturdays...
I'd get used to working at night and on weekends if you're serious and before you spend serious cash, I'd suggest you join an industry association connected with that business idea and start networking as you'll need those contacts.
You may also need to consider timing and seasonality of sales ie
1. a new florist in town might either not cope with the Valentines Day sales onslaught and/or wrongly expect sales to be that high all the time.
2. A dietician business could choose to set up in autumn as it could take six months ie until spring to get a bit of a profile so that customers would want to consult them for losing winter kilos.
3. A smash repair shop might want to open before the rainy season where cars smash more often thanks to slippery roads
Adam J
Search Engine Marketing Director at NetPlus Marketing, Inc
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While the enthusiasm is great, just diving in and doing it is probably a recipe for financial disaster....unless this new business is just for fun and not to make money...or you have a proven concept that just needs to get a big marketing push behind it to get it off the ground.
Personally, I'd want at least a years' worth of cash to live on not including what it will take to get this business off the ground. Do you have a houshold budget to know where the current money is going, where you can cut back if needed?
Not having a 401K is really no big deal. If you actually make money on your own, you can open a SEP, a solo 401K and there are some other varieties for which you can dump up to 45K or so per year into. Health insurance might be a bigger deal.
Cash flow is a major issue. You'll probably have to pay LOTS of people or companies a LOT of money before you get paid. Can you float 10K, 20K, 50K, 100K a month until you get paid? Get your credit card limits up so it’s easier to float that kind of cash.
Are you going to employ people or go solo? How big a part of the business will the web be? The online environment is a crowded place now and getting more crowded every day. Do you have the expertise or can you afford to get it in order to get started so you have an online presence that sells and not just a fancy brochure ware site?
If you want to start your own gig so you can set your own hours or think they will be less, you may be able to set your own hours but they may be 24 hours a day for a while depending on what you do. Depending on how financing is lined up (if necessary), starting a new company could be just like a job if the entity financing the operation owns you instead of you owning your baby.
Networking is important, sometimes more important, sometimes less depending on what business it is.
In any case, if you can swing it and really do something you love, success comes a lot easier and should be a million times more rewarding when you believe you can control your destiny and the sky is the limit.
Terri L M
Planning and Strategies Consultant; speaker, trainer, author.
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Mark:
If you can manage it, start your business while you are still working and bring home a steady paycheck. Build the business enough part time to the point you know you can easily replace all, or most of your corporate paycheck. Then, cut the apron strings and move forward full steam ahead.
If you think that this means working full time plus part time, it is...and so will starting your own business. Those of us with businesses of our own know well that we didn't do it to cut back on our work schedules. If anything, you'll work more for quite some time.
Start tucking away sufficient cash in your savings to get you through 6 months to a year of 'start up'. Get a good book on starting a business. Most will have a lot of charts and forms you can use to estimate start up costs, do some basic budgeting, etc. A good one that I've used is "Start Your Own Business" by Rieva Lesonsky (and the staff of 'Entrepreneur' magazine). At about 2" thick, it covers all sorts of situations you need to think about.
Good luck!
If the boomer is going to try something different they need to start while still employed. It's important to get a nice logo and develop a unique business proposition but don't spend too much time on branding. If they've been in sales they need to develop operations skills. If they've been the back office they need to develop sales and marketing skills.
Successful entrepreneurs I work with are very good at stretching their dollars but not unethical. They learn to carefully invest in their business with large outlays in ultra important areas and a shoestring budget for the rest. Even if they outsource functions they need continually learn more about them so they can make intelligent strategic decisions.
Be very careful about partnerships. Potential partners must be compatible and bring complimentary skills to the endeavor. Have an exit plan.
This idea is kind of crazy but if they could work for another successful small business for even 2-6 months it would be an eye opener. They would witness first hand the "Macgyver" type problem solving, quick on the feet decision making skills and laser focus on customer needs that successful entrepreneurs develop.
Bob T
Owner Mountain Global Inc.
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Mark, I have worked with nearly 50 entrepreneurs and start ups over the last five years and as one who left corporate America to start my own business; I would offer you the following advice:
First of all, you either work in corporate America or you are an entrepreneur! To think you can do both well is wrong. This is not fair to your employer or to your new business. What you wind up creating is a "hobby" company. I co founded an entrepreneurship series of workshops called "The Flight School". My partner has benchmarked nearly 20 businesses and found those that are "hobby" companies usually do not succeed because the CEO is not 100% committed to the business. Hobby companies can be successful but usually do not provide the long term opportunities for growth.
The second thing you need to ask yourself is can I sell! Can you find customers and convince them to buy your products and services? Sales cannot be outsourced. Our benchmarking results show a 100% correlation between the willingness and capability of a CEO to sell and success of the business after two years. Not only must you sell your products and services but the company that stands behind them!
Finally, try to create the business first then worry about products and services. in doing this you will be forced to see how you can generate revenue streams to fund not only your business growth but even to pay you a modest income. We have found those businesses who have followed this philosophy of "Sell then Build" tend to succeed versus those who "Build (products) then Sell".
Good luck
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More Answers (10)
Tomas Z
Visionary Entrepreneur,Enthusiastic "Idea Guru"
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Ask your self a question: "What if?"
And then answer:"Why not!"
Then go ahead and do it.
Vijay S
PMP, Engineering and Program Manager
Best Answers in: Change Management (3), Education and Schools (1), Project Management (1)
No fear.
Generally we are bound with fear by years of experience. We tend to do a lot of calculations and try to justify or unjustify each move we make.
If you have passion to do something, do it and stop thinking about what if.
Eileen B
IT Professional, Information Security Quality Assurance Operations & Administration / President, CMU SEI LI SPIN
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Same as not being in midlife, the same rules apply. I would not quit my day job tomorrow and run off on a tangent, but certainly adding another full time job to your plate is worth the time. When it takes off, then you leave your job and go for it.
Eileen
Make sure you have health insurance of some kind, once middle age sets in body parts fail at an alarming rate :)
Get your family behind you. You will need a strong relationship more than ever to cope with the stresses inherent in starting a business. Once you're on your own you will be spending a lot more hours working than you were when you had the corporation providing backround services for you.
Don't quit when things get tough - and they will.
Don't second guess yourself, Once you've cut the string there's no good that can come from looking back at the "good old days", if they were all that good you'd still be there.
Read The Dip by Seth Goddin. It will help you understand how to get through the dip and you will have a dip. It also explains what you will have to quit.
I agree with many comments about having a year of money available.
Also, don't do everything yourself. Read Tim Ferris 4hour work week and think about what you can outsource.
The great thing about working for yourself is that you get to choose which 16 hours a day you will work.
Good luck.
The key to success in business is universal and transcends the age at which you start the business. You've got to have vision of where you want to go.
You have to ask yourself why you want to start your own business. Do you have a great idea for a product or service where there is a need in the marketplace? Are you passionate about creating a remarkable company that does world-class work? Do you have a business plan with projected costs and potential revenues?
It's not a small thing to start your own business. I recommend getting the foundation work done and talking with your bank about what money is available before you resign your current position. Then GO FOR IT! Good luck to you!
Taking that leap is often an awesome idea as the opportunities of small business are boundless. While preparing for the transition, people must understand that there are many difficulties in starting a new business of any kind and to make sure they are financially prepared to fund the business (either personally or through funding partners). With that hurdle out of the way, the other major pitfall is to assume that one can do more than is realistic. Plan on spending a lot of time and energy up front to build a management team that is focused and capable of executing on the overall business. With the right funding and the best team in place, the risk is minimized and the business energy is enjoyable to unleash.
Hi Mark,
I'm John Gilbertson, I am 61 and boy, have I been through the mill. For 20 years I was successful working at the top of the funeral and cemetery business in Australia. I am just about to start witing a blog about the many stories of things happening in that industry. I retired at 58 after some Government interference and controversy, none of which was true. So I had to recreated myself. My wife Dianne and I are doing that together and really enjoying the change.
The biggest thing is to love yourself, realise that you are a worthwhile, lovable human being, then you can help others. Take the time to read and study new positive material, and allow others to help you.
We recently came across this opportunity which you have access to in the USA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq5VsKgvUyM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX37a9Vw31I&feature=related
If you want to know more about a business that will cost you less than a carton of Coke, has the potential to grow beyond the $1M mark, that you can operate from home, and is in the biggest market in the world and is backed by a company that has the highest ethical standards then contact me soon.
John Gilbertson
CEO
Bitemark
E johng@bitemark.com.au
W johngilbertson.wordpress.com
Links:
Jon B
Owner, Circulation Service America, Inc. (and others) Brochure, Newspaper, and Magazine Distribution.
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Start your business part time - make sure it's viable. When you get to that "leap or leave it" moment, that's when you have to decide once and for all. I started 4 different part-time businesses before I found ONE that could be built into a full-time income earner.
In all fairness, having a partner in life who is behind you 100% is pretty important too. Having a spouse who holds you back will kill your business before it gets off the ground.
Elizabeth P
Results Matter - Experienced Master Strategist and Tactician for Business and Career Progression
Hello Mark, Try blending. Becoming a solo entrepreneur while on payroll allows you the freedom to experiment with your business without jeopardizing your 'rent' money. I encourage one who takes this step to find the ‘sweet spot’ between what you love doing and what the market will pay for. Check out this article: http://trueoutcome.blogspot.com
To maintain consistent success, you must reach pinpoint clarity on your target market. This can be challenging because often by mid-life you have honed a number of skills and can think of lots of problems that you can solve for your clients. Take the time to narrow down the group of people that you are going to serve first. You will be able to expand your services later after the business takes off. Your clients will often lead you that way after you have built a relationship with them.
Also, remember that you have not been paid until the money is in the bank – not when people have expressed interest in what you are selling or even when they are contracting with you. I often blog around this subject
