Starting a business in your 50s

There is no doubt that the 50s is a good time to start a business. Anything you’ve heard to the contrary is wrong. You have almost three times as much chance of creating a successful business than at any other age. Let’s look at a couple examples.

* Leo Goodwin founded GEICO, the well-known insurance company, in the 1930s when he was 50 years old, along with his wife. He considered it a family business at the time even though it was not usual for a wife to work with her husband at a business like this.

* Wally Blume started his ice cream business Denali Flavors in 1995 when he was in his mid-50s. The business makes ice-cream in 40 flavors like black raspberry and caramel brownie. In the old days, he sometimes had really strange flavors too.

* Carol Gardner started her company Zelda Wisdom (https://www.zeldawisdom.com/), a greeting card company, after a divorce. She’s been featured on Oprah, Martha and various morning shows around the country.

As you see, you can start any type of business you can dream up if you have the right skill set and ability to invest in yourself and your idea and share the vision with the world. You can start a large business or a small business. You can start a solo operation or build a big firm. It’s totally up to you and your goals.

Your best bet is to become the expert on your niche even before you begin. That way, it won’t be a big shock when you start. Do your due diligence, identify your market, set up your start-up budget, craft a marketing plan, and go for it.

Don’t forget to use the contacts you’ve built up over the years. You’ll want to let everyone know that you’ve started the business or are going to, and you want them involved. If you are deficient in modern technology, consider bringing on other experts that have that skill either as a partner, employee or as a contractor.

The most important thing you can do when you have decided to start a business is to set a timeline right now for when you want to have your grand opening. Then get started on the planning and organizing so that you have a calendar full of things to do that will lead to your new business success.