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Do You Need To Be Young To Start A Business?

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I'm incredibly proud of my son, Ian, who opened a cafe and bar in Brooklyn with two partners a few months ago and is doing very well. Every time I see him, he looks happier - and a little more tired.  He's learning so many things, so quickly, with such energy and hope, and putting his whole heart and soul into the process.

Ian is 24, and his partners aren't much older.

Given that, I was caught by the title of a post here on Forbes by Brock Blake, Why 20-Somethings Are the Most Successful Entrepreneurs. Brock offers a number of compelling examples (the founders of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Wal-Mart were all in their 20s when they began their companies), and then goes on to opine that it's easier for young people to be successful entrepreneurs because they have less to lose and are therefore less cautious than their older counterparts -- and that their youth and relative inexperience gives them a fresh perspective that allows them to be more innovative.

I look at my son and his partners, and can't help but agree.  Ian's living expenses are low; he doesn't have a family  to think of or a mortgage to pay, and he's not worried about how this will look on his resume.  And  his untainted-by-negative-experience eyes are much more likely to focus on how to do something he envisions than on all the reasons it might not work.

But then I started to think about other entrepreneurs I know - myself included - who were in their 30s, 40s, 50s - even their 60s or 70s - when they started their businesses, and I realized that while the two elements Brock talks about are key to business success, they're primarily mindset-related vs. age-related. So then the question becomes, how can you cultivate that entrepreneurial mindset, no matter what your chronological age?

Becoming bold - When I started my business, I was 38, had two small children, and was the primary breadwinner. Hardly the carefree, nothing-to-lose 20-something Brock describes.  But I had something else that put me in that same bold, all-in frame of mind: I saw this as my big chance to create the life I wanted for myself and my family, and I was completely, 100% convinced that my business idea would work and was valuable. I see that Ian holds these same beliefs. Whether you have a lot at risk or a little, the energy required to start a new business and make it successful comes from a passionate commitment to both the power of your business concept and the importance of its success to you, personally. That deep and abiding commitment will take you from over-cautious to appropriately bold, and keep you there through whatever trials and tribulations arise.

Thinking fresh - My husband is thinking about starting a microbrewery.  He's been an IT executive for the past 20 years; before that he was an engineer.  I observe him thinking about this business in really innovative, fresh ways not because he's 25, but because he's willing to be a novice. I believe age isn't the main thing that makes it difficult for people to be innovative, but rather the discomfort with 'not knowing' that usually comes with age.  For most of us, the older we get, the more we think we're supposed to be knowledgeable and experienced...and that gets in the way of new thinking far more than chronology. If you can be comfortable with being on the front end of a learning curve in an endeavor, you're much more likely to see the possibility for new ways and fresh approaches.

I truly think that no matter how old you are, you can access these 'youthful mind' habits.  And then someday, someone will write a blog post about older entrepreneurs, and cite you as a shining example...

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