Entrepreneurship is often associated with youthful innovation and confidence. After all, the industry disruption necessary to disrupt the current landscape requires fresh and exciting ideas. However, the idea of the successful young entrepreneur is an outlier. The majority of successful business owners have spent decades honing their skills and becoming experts in their fields. 

In this article, we discuss the exception of young entrepreneurship and why late-in-life entrepreneurs and business owners have their own unique advantages.

The Exception of Young Entrepreneurship

Although quick success stories make great headlines, successful young entrepreneurs are the exception rather than the rule. In fact, the average age of all entrepreneurs in the United States is 42 years old. The most successful entrepreneurs also tend to be around that age range, dispelling the myth that you have to start young to be successful.

Business leaders who have recently entered the workforce often have more energy and time to start a business, but that does not mean that older entrepreneurs should be counted out. There are many advantages to starting a business once you have spent a few decades in your target industry.

Six Advantages of Late-in-Life Entrepreneurship

Listed below are six key advantages that set older, late-in-life entrepreneurs apart from their young counterparts:

• Industry expertise
• Risk clarity
• Automatic credibility
• Robust network
• Financial stability
• Proven resilience

Industry Expertise

The greatest advantage that late-in-life entrepreneurs tend to have is their wealth of industry expertise. Young entrepreneurs might have fresh and innovative ideas on how to disrupt the current landscape, but they likely do not know the industry well enough to make the most of their ideas. After all, you cannot fix something if you don’t first know how it works.

One study found that company founders with at least three years of industry experience were 85% more likely to launch a successful startup. Spending years, or even decades, within a specific field brings knowledge and expertise that cannot be quickly taught. This is especially true for certain industries where expertise and credibility take precedence over energy and innovation.

Risk Clarity

Because of their wealth of industry experience, late-in-life entrepreneurs also tend to have much greater risk clarity. Starting a business is a naturally risky endeavor, with most startups not lasting more than a few years. However, you can mitigate those risks if you have the right strategy.

Only someone who has spent years learning the various ins and outs of a field can know the best strategies. For example, someone who has worked in the same area for decades automatically knows the benefits of opening in certain locations and the risk of opening in others. Young entrepreneurs can learn that, but it takes time. Smart planning is much easier when you already have that expert knowledge in your back pocket.

Robust Network

Late-in-life entrepreneurs also often have a robust network that they’ve created over the years. Younger counterparts might have a unique “in” here or there depending on their background, but it is not the same. You cannot replicate the connections that someone has built over decades.

Spending years in the same field, especially when in the same area, naturally leads to connection. Older entrepreneurs who have properly networked will have respected colleagues in every part of their respective industries. When they start their own business, this robust network will give them a natural advantage. The right connections lead to more opportunities, better opportunities, and built-in business relationships.

Proven Resilience

When starting a new venture, older entrepreneurs have the advantage of having already proven their resilience. Starting any business is difficult, and making it successful is even more so. Not every young business owner has what it takes to make it in certain fields. They may also just not be ready to run a full business.

Entrepreneurs who have already spent decades in a field clearly have what it takes to survive. They already have the knowledge and endurance to thrive in an industry during many different shifts and upsets. Key relationships will appreciate that resilience and have more confidence in your ability to successfully start a thriving business.

Automatic Credibility

Late-in-life entrepreneurs also tend to have earned automatic credibility with other business leaders. They have spent years working in a specific industry while building their network and proving their worth. Many people will trust someone more easily if they see evidence of work and success. Young entrepreneurs, meanwhile, will have to earn every ounce of credibility from scratch.

For example, you are more likely to believe a chiropractor with decades of experience when they explain concerning symptoms. Someone who has just entered the field will not have the same automatic credibility. The same principle applies to almost any industry where years of experience correlate with greater trust.

Financial Stability

A final but significant advantage that late-in-life entrepreneurs also tend to have is financial stability. Young startup owners usually do not have much capital to their names, and they have to get their money entirely from other sources. Their financial stability is entirely external, which makes them dependent on other people.

When older entrepreneurs have significant savings, they are starting from a stronger position. They can afford to wait for the best offers to come along. There is less of a demanding timeline. Financial stability lessens the chance of risky behavior, because they are comfortable enough to make the smartest, most strategic decision.

Key Takeaways

Young and successful business owners are often highlighted in the media, but they are outliers. Most successful entrepreneurs tend to be in their 40s when they start out, and there are a lot of advantages to that. Older business owners have more industry experience, greater risk clarity, and a robust network to draw from. Late-in-life entrepreneurs also tend to be resilient, automatically credible, and financially stable. The best ideas tend to find success only when they are backed by decades of knowledge and experience.

Author Bio: Sherjan Husainie is the Founder of KIRO,  the world’s most advanced chiropractic brand. He studied Aerospace Engineering at the University of Toronto and Financial Engineering at UCLA Anderson. Before founding KIRO, Sherjan worked at Google and was a Vice President in Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley. His mission is to make modern, accessible chiropractic care available to 100 million members globally.