Successful Entrepreneurship for Women Over 45

How Women Launch Successful Businesses in Midlife

Tradition has it that you start your career in your 20’s, reach career peak in your late 40’s, and retire in your 60’s. While that path still holds true for some, the path to entrepreneurship for women over 50 is proving to be a very successful one. For example, Ellen Latham co-founded the billion dollar fitness company Orangetheory Fitness at 54, Jean Chatzky launched her multimedia company, HerMoney at 54, Jaleh Bisharat co-founded the multimillion-dollar beauty brand Naked Poppy at 59, and Jules Pieri, best-selling author and co-founder of The Grommet (acquired by Ace Hardware) launched at 48.

While we have this impression that entrepreneurship is best left to the under 30 set, studies show just the opposite. A study conducted by MIT, Northwestern, Wharton and the US Census Bureau found that that median age of startup founders in the US is 45 and the average age of women entrepreneurs in the US is 42.

What’s the secret? Here are 4 reasons why women over 45 are successful entrepreneurs.

Experience- Nothing ensures success more than spending time learning a particular trade or niche. Many successful women entrepreneurs over the age of 40 built corporate careers in their field of expertise. They’ve spent time building their networks and developing strong relationships with people they can trust to help them launch a business successfully. They also have a better understanding of what the customer wants as well as industry pitfalls and needs. Even if an entrepreneur does not a launch a business in the industry she built her career, she still comes with leadership and business savvy experience that is essential in entrepreneurship.

 Finances- As careers grow so do finances. People become more financially savvy, make investments and create nest eggs. These nest eggs could serve as initial seed money to launch a business without having to take out a loan. Having this financial prowess also enables investors to have better trust in entrepreneurs over 40 making the ability to get funding a bit easier.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

SBA Loans for Small Businesses

Time- In 2020 the Great Resignation brought to light the issue that has been plaguing women in the workforce. As primary caregivers their responsibilities lie at home and work and when these worlds collided many women were unfortunately left with the difficult choice to exit the workforce. We hope this dilemma for women as primary caregivers will improve and changes are made to better support women in their careers. However, women in mid-life are able to lead successful businesses because their children are older, home life takes focus and they can dedicate their time on personal growth and their career.

Know their target audience- People over 50 have the most wealth. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t recognize that and don’t target this age group. Who better to know their customer than a founder who is a similar age. Ellen Latham who founded Orangetheory in her 50’s initially targeted millennials and Gen Z customers. Realizing that by 2030 baby boomers will represent approximately 1 in 5 Americans she has decided to shift her model to market to the population segment.

Are You Ready To Build A Business?

Most likely you have thought about starting a business and you may even have a concept in mind. If you are like most of us we hesitate to start a business because we begin to doubt ourselves (imposter syndrome rearing it’s ugly head), you start to second guess your business acumen and you feel overwhelmed with how to move forward. All the research you have done only adds more confusion.

We work with hundreds of small business owners in all parts of their journey, from startup to success. We see what it takes to launch a business successfully, we have taken the cumulative know-how from business owners just like you and put their best practices into a process that you can use too!

Our mission is to help you remove the doubt behind your business concept with proven strategies and give you the tools to plan for profits before you open the doors (virtually or IRL) to clients.

Learn more about our free webinar here.