Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on NewRetirement.
You’d be surprised by the realities of being an entrepreneur after 50! Financial success later in life is more COMMON than you might think.
Can you guess which of the following statements are true and false?
Most entrepreneurs around the world are 55-64 years old
THE TRUTH
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the highest level of entrepreneurship worldwide has shifted to the 55-64 age group. Also, entrepreneurial activity among the over-50s has increased by more than 50 percent since 2008.
In America, 34 million adults want to start a business.
Gig Jobs Are Where the Growth Is
FICTION
A study from the University of Michigan found that top entrepreneurs are 2-3 times more likely to start a new business than to participate in the gig economy.
Uber, Lyft and all the other contract employers may need to worry about hiring (and competing too).
Big Time Success Is Most Possible After 50
THE TRUTH
You think of high-level entrepreneurs, and many of them were young when they started. For example, Mark Zuckerberg was still in college when he created Facebook. Elon Musk made his first millions in his 20s, before starting the company that would become PayPal and then Tesla. Bill Gates was only 23 years old when he started Microsoft.
However, it turns out that there are exceptions to this rule. More opportunities for success later in life.
The Age and High Growth Entrepreneurship study, conducted by MIT in collaboration with the US Census Bureau, analyzed 2.7 million people who started companies between 2007 and 2014 and found that 50-year-olds were twice as likely to be highly successful – explained . like a company that works in the top 0.1% – than a 30 year old.
“These findings strongly reject the conventional wisdom that emphasizes youth as the main characteristic of successful entrepreneurs,” wrote the authors of the study.
Entrepreneurial Success After 60 is more likely than a 30-year-old.
THE TRUTH
The MIT study also found that a 60-year-old startup founder is three times more likely than a 30-year-old founder to launch a successful startup – and even more surprisingly – they are 1.7 times more likely to have a successful startup. up 0.1% of all companies.
Success seems to increase as you get older.
- A 50-year-old startup founder is 2.2 times more likely to have a successful startup than a 30-year-old.
- A 40-year-old startup founder is 2.1 times more likely to have a successful startup than a 25-year-old.
- A 50-year-old startup founder is 2.8 times more likely to have a successful startup than a 25-year-old founder.
Businesses Owned by People Over the Age of 50+ Are More Likely to Fail
FICTION
GEM reports that five years after startup, 70% of businesses started by 50+ entrepreneurs are still operating compared to just 28% of businesses started by younger entrepreneurs.
Many people would rather start a small business than retire
THE TRUTH
A survey from UPS found that 54% of respondents would rather open a small business than retire, if money or health were not an issue later in life.
They also report that nearly two-thirds of Americans dream of being their own boss.
Productivity Increases with Growth
THE TRUTH
According to Gary Burtless, Senior Fellow of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institute, “If labor productivity is hurt by the increase in the aging workforce, the reality is not reflected in the income figures for the elderly themselves.
“The average worker aged between 60 and 74 now earns a higher hourly wage than workers aged between 25 and 59. The incomes of older men and women have been steadily increasing since the beginning of this century.”
More Educated People Are More Likely to Work Longer Than Less Educated People
THE TRUTH
Older Americans who stay in the workforce after age 62 are more likely to have received schooling after high school than workers who retire younger.
Senior Entrepreneurs Start Businesses Because They Need Money
FICTION
Research by Guidant Financial found that the majority (42%) of entrepreneurs over the age of 50 said they started their businesses because they wanted to do what they had left – not because they needed money.
Most Small Businesses in America Are Owned by Over 50 People
THE TRUTH
Guidant Financial research also reports that 54% of American small business owners are over 50.
The exact classification is also interesting:
- 33% of small business owners are between the ages of 50 and 59.
- 17% are 60-69.
- 4% are over 70.
So, Why Are Senior Entrepreneurs So Successful?
There doesn’t seem to be any consensus on why older entrepreneurs are so successful. Theories include:
- Acting On Ideas: Young people may have great new ideas, but older entrepreneurs may be better at execution.
- Links: At 50 and over, you’ve been around a long time, you know a lot of people and those connections can be invaluable to growing your business.
- Confidence: With growth comes experience. You’ve seen a few things before and that breeds confidence. You know you can win and do things.
- Access to Speech: Older people tend to have better credit. This access to money can make it easier to start a successful business.
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