Putting Age in the Asset Column

Over-55 entrepreneurs are so busy, we don't think about whether our age is an asset or a liability. If you're wondering whether you're too old to start a business, take a look at what we bring to the table.

We Can Get the Job Done.
We've been working women, wives and mothers, volunteers and caregivers. Complex projects hold no trepidation for us; we're used to filling multiple roles.

To be a mother is to be a project manager. We're comfortable working within budgets, many times quite tight, and using creativity to get results on time and on budget.

Our 50 or more years of life experience give us the resiliency to keep going when the going gets tough. Fledgling businesses require the same kind of attention and strength that we've been providing in all areas of our lives; it's second nature to us.

We Know Who We Are.
Over the years, we've learned how to play to our strengths and minimize our weaknesses. This self-knowledge can't be short-circuited; it's been honed through time.

Are you comfortable staying in the background? You know to find salespeople to bring your products to market. Love the limelight? Then you know you're not a detail person and a business manager will balance your skills.

In our twenties, we thought we could do it all. Now we know this isn't the wisest and most profitable approach. It takes maturity to know when to bring others in.

We Have People Skills.
Our years out in the world have given us a wide network. We know people from all walks of life and they carry enormous expertise of their own. Knowing such a wide range of people has taught us about diversity.

Having positions of responsibility professionally and as volunteers has taught us how to motivate and work with different personalities. This isn't knowledge learned by reading or taking a class; it's learned by living.

It's easy to fall for the myth that we're over the hill after 55. You may not be as technically proficient as a 22-year-old, but what you do bring to the table--experience, self-knowledge and people skills--can't be acquired in the space of a few years. When you list your assets, be sure to put your age at the top.