Obstacles You May Encounter When Starting a Business in Late Midlife

There was a time when starting a business in late midlife was often seen as something unusual. After all, who wants to start building a business when they perhaps have only a decade or perhaps two to work before retirement? However, with rising lifespans and increasing ages for retirement, it is no longer out of the norm, but there are challenges you may face that wouldn’t have presented themselves in younger years. Here is some of what you can expect and how to overcome those issues.

Getting Past the Fears

One of the biggest obstacles older entrepreneurs seem to encounter is their fear that they are getting too old to be taking on all the trials and tribulations of starting a business from the ground up. Even though they have years of experience in their field and have built a successful career working for someone else, they fear they will be seen as too old in some circles. While the number of people starting a new business in their late 40s to 60s is growing exponentially, the fear still prevails. Unfortunately, they are not always wrong.

Dealing with Age Discrimination

There may be times when you find that doors opened to younger people are shut firmly in your face. Whether it’s a business loan you know you are being denied based on age or perhaps leases for premises which wouldn’t be an issue if you were in your 30s, you do have legal recourse to address what you see clearly as a case of discrimination based on age. If there is clear evidence that age is an issue, you might want to consult with attorneys such as the San Diego team at Briggs Law. These experienced lawyers take public interest litigation very seriously and will work diligently to get the just compensation you rightfully deserve.

Going Beyond Your Endurance

Starting a business places a great number of demands on you physically and emotionally. Not only is it extremely stressful but it can mean working long hours during those initial months. What many successful older entrepreneurs suggest is that you be realistic in your levels of endurance. You cannot expect your body to take the wear and tear it did a decade or two ago, so go easy on yourself. It can help to take on a partner or assistant to share some of the grunt work – and make no mistake about it, in the beginning, much of what you will be doing is grunt work!

The point being made is that there is no reason on earth why you cannot start a business and make a huge success of it in late midlife. It will take some planning and an honest assessment of what you can really put yourself through, but when the day is over, your years of experience in the corporate world can bring something to the table that younger professionals have yet to learn. Knowing what to expect is half the battle so now that you have an idea of what you ‘might’ be up against, it’s time to get started. It’s never too late for new beginnings.