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AGE MATTERS IN BUSINESS?

In traditional work often you may find ageism at work and you are seen as "too young" or "too old", although laws now prevent discrimination in advertising for staff and their management.

When it comes to owning and running a business the sky's the limit, many successful world beating businesses have been started by people whilst still at college or retired.

The key to being successful is based not on age but several key factors;

• a great business idea, a service or product that is in demand and a growing market, locally, national or worldwide. Younger people may have a better understanding of youth markets, whereas old people see opportunities for their age group that younger folk may miss or disregard.

• home based businesses are becoming more popular especially for internet businesses, all you need is a bedroom, garage or office. Every business needs a base and this depends on the space needed and the number of people involved in running it.

• sufficient money to start the venture and see it through, this can be done in some cases for very little investment which can be found from existing income, savings or a little borrowing. Young folk may be happy to hold down part time work to help fund business development, get loans or gifts from parents. The older generation may have access to redundancy and pension funds and equity is property for borrowing, denied to the young. Arguably the older person is more financial able to fund a new business.

• commitment - to stick at the idea and modify it as you learn, tenacity is vital and you do not quit at the first tough patch.

• timing is critical, you need to be in this new market NOW, not in a years time, while you think about it, if you have a business idea and well thought out plan be up and running in a few weeks otherwise you may NEVER start.

• health - you need to be fit mentally and physically, being your own boss has no easy days off or "sickies".

Useful web sites

Ideal Age for an Entrepreneur What are the pros and cons of starting a business at each stage? .... I really don’t think there is an ideal age to start a business.

Seeking the ideal retirement job - Satisfaction Magazine As for the low number of people interested in starting a business, ... seekers over age 50 to rate 10 factors in answering the question:

Please feel free to Contact Us with questions or to give us information to add to our knowledge base.