The New Mid-Life Crisis
By Kavita Sahai
For many, the term ‘mid-life crisis’ conjures up images of adults acting out through expensive car purchases, extra-marital affairs or lavish spending. Recently, there has been a new behavior trend emerging from adults within the 55-64-year-old age demographic, and it is an entrepreneurship. Referred to as the ‘new mid-life crisis’, more and more aging adults are taking the brave leap of entrepreneurship in the quest of starting a new life that they feel with bring balance, fulfillment and reward their accrued business skillset.
A current study, performed by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, revealed that baby boomers have contributed to the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity across the nation in recent years. Largely in part driven by the economy, another driving factor is that we are living longer, healthier lives and over 60% of middle-aged adults are planning to stay active in the workforce for at least another five to ten years.
If you have ever considered taking the entrepreneurial journey, why not consider jumping on America’s ‘new mid-life crisis’? It will certainly be thrilling, rewarding and you may even possibly earn enough to buy that fancy red sports car of your dreams.
To start, follow these suggested tips below to get you on the right track to becoming your own boss:
For many, the term ‘mid-life crisis’ conjures up images of adults acting out through expensive car purchases, extra-marital affairs or lavish spending. Recently, there has been a new behavior trend emerging from adults within the 55-64-year-old age demographic, and it is an entrepreneurship. Referred to as the ‘new mid-life crisis’, more and more aging adults are taking the brave leap of entrepreneurship in the quest of starting a new life that they feel with bring balance, fulfillment and reward their accrued business skillset.
A current study, performed by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, revealed that baby boomers have contributed to the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity across the nation in recent years. Largely in part driven by the economy, another driving factor is that we are living longer, healthier lives and over 60% of middle-aged adults are planning to stay active in the workforce for at least another five to ten years.
If you have ever considered taking the entrepreneurial journey, why not consider jumping on America’s ‘new mid-life crisis’? It will certainly be thrilling, rewarding and you may even possibly earn enough to buy that fancy red sports car of your dreams.
Follow Your Passion
You may have heard the quote “Man is only great when he acts from passion” from former British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. This is so true for launching a successful business. It’s long hours, hard work and it truly needs to be something that you love to do in order to make it successful. Sometimes, it may take a little time to find your passion, but when you do, you will know it in your heart.
A former New York City bartender uncovered his true calling through the simple act of volunteering. Scott Harrison went on a missionary trip with Mercy Ships, an organization that sends doctors to impoverished parts of the world to provide medicine and treatment. He acted as a volunteer photographer in Liberia to document their work and was shocked by the number of waterborne diseases. He became passionate about this cause and launched the thriving non-profit organization Charity Water, which has helped over six million people worldwide.
Ask for Feedback
When you feel you have a solid business idea, it’s time to network. Feedback is critical, and the more you can receive, the better prepared you will be to successfully launch your business. Meet with people that would represent your target market and ask them questions about your proposed product or service. The best way to get feedback is through customer interviews, where you do not mention your solution at all, but rather focus on understanding the problem that you are trying to solve.
Some suggested interview questions are:
- Tell me about your role at your [company]?
- What tasks take up the most time in your day?
- What could be done to improve your experience with [process/role]?
- Do you find it hard to [process/problem]?
- How motivated are you to solve/improve [problem/process]?
- What do you like and dislike about [competitor’s product or solution]?
Use your feedback to develop your idea until you have a confident business plan and are ready to launch.
Consider Finding a Partner.
Sometimes two brains are better than one. MIT research shows that companies with more than one founder have an 80% higher chance of being successful. Figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and look for a co-founder that has the skillsets that you lack. LinkedIn is a great search tool for finding potential partners since you can see an individual’s skills and how they might be connected to you within your own professional network. Other great resources are dedicated startup networking websites, such as FounderDating, CoFoundersLab, CollabFinder, Founder2be, Younoodle, Founders Nation and Meetup.
If you are seriously considering mid-life entrepreneurship, it is important to do a thorough review of your financial situation. Understand the true costs of launching a start-up and what the risks will be. Know what you can afford and make sure that you are not using your 401k or retirement savings as collateral. Protecting your personal assets is critical, especially when starting a business later in life.
If you are confident you have the resources, the right idea and the work ethic to start your own business, then go follow your dream! You just may join the ranks of thousands of other baby boomers that have successfully created their own business and avoided the dreaded mid-life crisis. You don’t have to do it alone. BIGplans is here to help through an affordable text-based business coaching platform that will match you to the perfect business coach to help you launch and grow your dream business.
kavita@havebigplans.com
Have BIGplans, LLC virtually, conveniently and affordably connects entrepreneurs with certified business coaches. As the first-ever text business coaching platform, Have BIGplans has revolutionized the business coaching industry by providing unparalleled dialog between certified business coaches and small business owners in the digital age. Founded with the mission to promote economic growth by helping small business owners, especially women, to build a business that fuels their soul and their bank account, Have BIGplans works with businesses large and small, new and established, in many different industries. For more information, please visit www.havebigplans.com.