Age Is No Barrier For An Entrepreneur’s Spirit
One of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs sails across the Atlantic, abseils down Las Vegas skyscrapers, and attempts to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon – while running a £3billion business empire. But he is no fresh-faced 20-year-old.
For Richard Branson, his 58 years are an advantage on younger entrepreneurs, giving him wily life skills and an understanding of the world that an 18-year-old would struggle to match. Experts point out the need to harness the skills of “olderpreneurs”.Indeed, most of our country’s finest entrepreneurs are over 50: Bernie Eccleston, 77; Sir Alan Sugar, 61: Duncan Bannatyne, 59, and Sir Philip Green, 56.
Yet there is still a widespread feeling that entrepreneurial spirit is synonymous with youth. And this is something which businessmen in the West Midlands are keen to challenge.
Research by the Prince’s Trust shows that while only 28 per cent of companies started by young people make it past the first five years, those businesses started by the older generation have a 70 per cent survival rate.
And last week the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson gave the Government’s backing to a new scheme aimed at encouraging the over 50s to get involved in business.
“There is no age limit on entrepreneurial spirit,” he said. “During the current economic climate it is even more vital that older people have the confidence to make their business ideas a reality.”
Photo by Rachel Kramer Bussel.
cassy on December 9th, 2008 5:46 pm
Age is not a question to have a entrepreneur spirit. what is the important is your passion and love in anything that you want too,and put your spirit into it, just like what Richard Branson did,even if he is already 58 year old but he dont think it as a problem to be an entrepreneur,instead hi think it as advantage to young one. follow your dream and have confedence, that you can make it, even if we are young or old spirit to be successful, in every goal that we want to reach is in our self, all we need is to do something to overcome it, age does not matter! hehehehehe
Matt Helphrey on December 9th, 2008 5:55 pm
Interesting. “olderpreneurs” is that even a word? Im sure we will see the younger people succeed more as the years progress. Knowledge is an essential ingredient to success running a business and I think you will see that the younger people now know more than young people did in the past.
Susan on December 9th, 2008 9:44 pm
The only reason the young people would know more now then they did in the past is because they teach things at younger ages then they did say when we were in school or even when our parents were in school.
While I agree that knowledge is essential in running a business, it is also essential in any aspect in life, whether its in running a business or learning to walk and chew gum at the same time…which quite a few people still can’t do by the way.
I must be from old school because I still believe there is a wisdom born of age and the youth of this century may possess different knowledge learned from books, it is the “olderpreneurs” that have the greatest wisdom, and that is from experience, from a life lived.
Jaclyn on December 11th, 2008 10:18 am
I agree…age is not a factor in being an entrepreneur…there are more important factors such as finance, will, attitude, marketing, the need for a service or product being provided and so on. I think it is great when i read interviews done on young and older entrepreneurs…it goes to show that anyone can do anything they put their mind’s to no matter their age!
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