We may be getting older but we are not ready to quit yet!  The baby boomers have changed society’s expectations of every age and social norm. We may be slowly reaching retirement age. But many in this population intend to continue working while others would like to venture into a new business. A survey from AARP found 10 percent of workers ages 45 to 74 want to start a business and 15 percent of workers in this age range are already self-employed. That is 25%!

There are several successful entrepreneurs who own globally known brands that were founded by people of retirement age. Below is an infographic to show you this trend. 

Infographics by: Ivan Widjaya

These successful enterprise owners along with their stories could serve as an inspiration and encouragement to other baby boomers to go ahead, start a new career or create a new start-up business. It’s never too late to turn your dream into a reality.

Entrepreneurs in the later ages are called encore entrepreneurs. These people often start a business based on social needs or their passion; examples are real estate, hobbies such as woodworking, arts and crafts, or baking. Moreover, they have the wisdom, knowledge and experience which serves as their arsenal to success.

If there’s any advice to give to the soon-to-be baby boomer entrepreneur it is not to put all their eggs in one basket. Meaning, don’t use all your retirement savings to fund your business. Remember, the margin of error is a bit of a constraint when you hit the age of retirement than when you are in your 30s or 40s.  There is not as much opportunity to recover from failure.  But there is also not as much to fear from failure!  So if you have always  wanted to be on your own – Go Ahead!