After years of working for an airline, 60 year-old Linda Nagamine used $2,000 that had been earmarked to buy a ring to start Honolulu-based EZ Living Connection. And the company just had its first product–a keychain-like device that attaches to a woman’s purse strap and puts an end to the days of searching for keys–featured on the television shopping network QVC.
Entrepreneur reports more and more older people are taking the entrepreneurial step for the first time. In the study “The Coming Entrepreneurship Boom,” the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation reports that from 1996 to 2007, Americans aged 55 to 64 had a significantly higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than those aged 20 to 34.
If starting your own business later in life is an appealing idea, keep these tips in mind:
1. Keep things lean. As with any entrepreneur, older people who start their own business would do well to keep expenses in check, particularly at the outset.
2. Leverage networks. Be sure to use your network of friends, family and colleagues throughout the launch and growth of the company.
3. If you lack a skill, partner with someone.
4. Don’t get discouraged because of your age.
Photo by funkeyfinder.