Times have changed.
Being able to quit planning to work by the time you hit your mid-50s is just a dream for many of us. It’s just the reality we face resulting from the many changes in the way the current economy is spinning. Many of us cannot afford to fully retire or are so healthy that we just don’t want to. Either way, there are other opportunities for us and they are not as employees – they are as entrepreneurs. Okay, before you start saying things like I have lost my mind let me tell you a little bit about my story. I closed my business at 55. It was losing money and fell victim to the digital age and a soft economy. So, I started a home-based business as I was far from being anywhere near financially secure enough to stop working. Maybe you are the kind of person who needed some help with your college dissertation because you were convinced you were going to work forever in the perfect work environment. Well, that wasn’t exactly how it went for me and countless others in our age bracket. So why would you even consider starting a business in your 50s? Let me give you three good reasons. 1 – Turn That Experience Into Gold Let’s face it, even if you’ve only had one job for the past forty years, you have no less than forty years of experience. It has taught you something. Through keen observation and paying attention over the years you are going to have a good idea on how to handle several different situations someone half your age can’t imagine figuring out. Score one for you. 2 – Turn All That Extra Time Into Gold By now you have at least paid off your mortgage or are very close. You have taken care of most of the goals you set for yourself several years ago. You are no longer in a hurry to get to that next one and that’s what works in your favour. Someone half your age is still thinking about marriage, family and that sort of thing. You’ve done all that so now you have the time to focus on a new project – your new business. Score yourself one more point. 3 – Turn How You Deal With Things Into Gold Chances are you’ve had a few bumps along the way. Closing my business may be viewed as a failure to some but the way I dealt with it is what propelled me into my new business. You and I can let some things bounce off of us that could be devastating to someone half our age. We’ve found ways to get through the ups and downs and can navigate through them all. Starting a new business will have some of those, but it’s easy for us to work them out. Score 3-0! It’s not as big a stretch as it once was to keep working later in life. In fact, it is far more common than you may think. For some of us we do it because we have to. Others do it as a way to stay connected and to keep busy. Whatever your reasons for starting a new business in your 50s, you will know that the odds are in your favour that you will succeed and that’s what makes it worth a try.
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AuthorMy name is George Elliott. I have been in the Media Industry since 1978. I spent 23 years in Broadcasting and worked in a total of six different radio stations located in southern British Columbia Canada during my career. In 2000 I switched gears and moved into the Print Media Industry at a small town, local weekly newspaper. In 2004 I bought the paper and operated it with my wife, Brenda until July 2016 when we closed it. I launched a freelance web content and article writing business from my home in January 2014. Archives
April 2021
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