'Prime' working age and running a business
Discussion
I had an interesting chat with a friend last week about various business related stuff, he is 36 and successful in his business and has been building it for the last 13 years. I'm 34 and i'm in year 2 of being on my business full time, after 2 years of testing the water and running it part time. Previous to that i was self employed but not in an industry i could make huge progress with.
He indicated i should be 'getting on with it' in terms of increasing earnings as at my age i should be in my 'prime' working period and earning better money, however although this may be the case for someone in a 'normal' employed position, i had to disagree, saying surely when you run a business it takes time and a hard slog to start earning the big bucks, and there is not necessarily a 'prime' age period when this is the case. I thought he's understand that having been building his business for 13 years, but think he thought as we were similar ages i should be the same.
As i see it, by the time i'm in my late 30's/early 40's i will then be in a position to take more as the business would have grown more. Some people i know took 15 years + to make 'ok' money before they hit the big time.
Interested to hear others stories of success in relation to timescales, how long you took to build your businesses and make good money?
Mark
He indicated i should be 'getting on with it' in terms of increasing earnings as at my age i should be in my 'prime' working period and earning better money, however although this may be the case for someone in a 'normal' employed position, i had to disagree, saying surely when you run a business it takes time and a hard slog to start earning the big bucks, and there is not necessarily a 'prime' age period when this is the case. I thought he's understand that having been building his business for 13 years, but think he thought as we were similar ages i should be the same.
As i see it, by the time i'm in my late 30's/early 40's i will then be in a position to take more as the business would have grown more. Some people i know took 15 years + to make 'ok' money before they hit the big time.
Interested to hear others stories of success in relation to timescales, how long you took to build your businesses and make good money?
Mark
'Building a business' can be a double edged sword. Some people build it until it breaks, others add more staff and then wonder where the profit went. It depends entirely on the nature of the business and the person running it. Not everyone is Theo Profiterole; some people are quite happy to keep tonking along making a living and saving the excess for the future. You have to do what you feel comfortable with and can achieve.
Businesses grow at different rates, and break through scale barriers at different times. Your mate should know that... 
For example, I grew my business quickly, and at 22 had 4 full time employees, and at 25 5 full timers, and a couple of part-timers.
However, despite a business degree and 5 years experience wasn't experienced enough to appreciate that exponential growth does not last forever, and when we hit a blip and another couple of problems out of the blue it knocked us sideways.
With the experience I have now, at 36, I could have handled it much better.
In short, what I am saying is, being a bit older can often be an advantage when you are growing a business. Don't worry about it.
He's run his business his way, and you can run yours your own.
For example, I grew my business quickly, and at 22 had 4 full time employees, and at 25 5 full timers, and a couple of part-timers.
However, despite a business degree and 5 years experience wasn't experienced enough to appreciate that exponential growth does not last forever, and when we hit a blip and another couple of problems out of the blue it knocked us sideways.
With the experience I have now, at 36, I could have handled it much better.
In short, what I am saying is, being a bit older can often be an advantage when you are growing a business. Don't worry about it.
He's run his business his way, and you can run yours your own.
30 - 40 is prime. There was an interesting feature on R2 this week (Thursday) about people who are 50, 60+ setting up their own businesses, you can probably 'listen again' online. Apparently the failure rate is quite low due to their experience and lack of need to make a certain amount to make ends meet.
MrH said:
I had an interesting chat with a friend last week about various business related stuff, he is 36 and successful in his business and has been building it for the last 13 years. I'm 34 and i'm in year 2 of being on my business full time, after 2 years of testing the water and running it part time. Previous to that i was self employed but not in an industry i could make huge progress with.
He indicated i should be 'getting on with it' in terms of increasing earnings as at my age i should be in my 'prime' working period and earning better money, however although this may be the case for someone in a 'normal' employed position, i had to disagree, saying surely when you run a business it takes time and a hard slog to start earning the big bucks, and there is not necessarily a 'prime' age period when this is the case. I thought he's understand that having been building his business for 13 years, but think he thought as we were similar ages i should be the same.
As i see it, by the time i'm in my late 30's/early 40's i will then be in a position to take more as the business would have grown more. Some people i know took 15 years + to make 'ok' money before they hit the big time.
Interested to hear others stories of success in relation to timescales, how long you took to build your businesses and make good money?
Mark
I started my first business at 35 and it taught me 80% of what I now know about business.He indicated i should be 'getting on with it' in terms of increasing earnings as at my age i should be in my 'prime' working period and earning better money, however although this may be the case for someone in a 'normal' employed position, i had to disagree, saying surely when you run a business it takes time and a hard slog to start earning the big bucks, and there is not necessarily a 'prime' age period when this is the case. I thought he's understand that having been building his business for 13 years, but think he thought as we were similar ages i should be the same.
As i see it, by the time i'm in my late 30's/early 40's i will then be in a position to take more as the business would have grown more. Some people i know took 15 years + to make 'ok' money before they hit the big time.
Interested to hear others stories of success in relation to timescales, how long you took to build your businesses and make good money?
Mark
The remaining 20% has come from setting up and running other businesses which have succeeded and failed about equally.
I would say that it has typically taken me 3 years to get a business properly operational and 5 for it to become lucrative.
I am now in my 50s, but physically fitter and able to graft than I was at 40. Body parts start to wear out in one's 40s, so it's time to start taking care of them and getting repairs done where necessary, if the intention is to keep working. Which for me it is. This includes keeping body fat down, physical and mental exercise and good nutrition.
Financially I am at a point where I could give up work and retire comfortably. But I am about to risk pretty much everything again to start a business that will either make me very wealthy or see me broke. I will be nearer 60 than 50 by the time I know which it is. If it is the latter I will probably be mid 60s before I recover.
I have friends who are younger than me with no mortgage and a job. They are quite happy. But personally I would prefer to die of a heart attack due to the stress of business than collapse face down in the hollyhocks whilst post-retirement gardening. I don't want to die with regrets about not having achieved as much as I could have.
What is "prime working age"? Conventional wisdom probably says 30-50. But it very much depends what YOU want it to be and if you look after yourself there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to work as hard at 65 as you could at 40.
Edited by 13m on Saturday 26th September 11:16
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