Over 55s are the most confident entrepreneurs
ENTREPRENEURS are increasingly waiting until later in life before starting their own business.
Over 40 per cent of over 55s feel they have the skills and abilities to launch a business, compared to just eight per cent of 18 to 24s.
But technology remains a stumbling block to starting a business for older entrepreneurs, with half of over 45s citing a lack of IT knowledge as a key barrier to launching a startup, according to a report from O2 Business.
The younger generation of entrepreneurs see time (10 per cent) and money (18 per cent) as the greatest hurdles to starting their own businesses, resources that older entrepreneurs are likely to have more of.
“The start-up community is such an exciting sector to be in, but there are still many perceived barriers that prevent people from all age groups from starting their own business,” said O2 head of small business Paul Lawton.
“It’s great to see that people heading into the latter stages of their working life are as likely as the younger generations to take charge of their destiny and start their own business.”
Of the over 55s surveyed by OnePoll for the report, a quarter said that the desire to work for themselves had increased with age.
“It has been such a great experience starting up my business after having a successful career in the defence industry,” said Brian Taylor who founded his own picture-based password business PixelPin at age 49.
“When I started PixelPin four years ago, it felt like the right time because I had good experience under my belt to understand the best approach, so rather than spending time in a large corporate waiting for retirement, I now have a great opportunity to enjoy working for myself, and growing a business I am truly passionate about,” added Taylor.