Have you been dreaming about starting your own gig, but somewhat worried that you’ve already past the primal age to start a new business?

Perhaps you’re in your 40s, 50s or 60s and have spent your entire working life in the corporate world; possibly you have always dreamed of being an entrepreneur; but you think it’s too late for you to start a new business.

Look, if you are serious about being an entrepreneur and starting a new business, then there has never been a better time to do it than now!

The current technology: all the tools and resources that are available today have made it so easy to have a far greater reach than ever before! You can expand your business rather quickly and precisely zero in on the right people who need to hear your message!

None of these were available decades ago. It’s extremely easy to succeed and be an entrepreneur than it was 10-20 years ago.

Don’t say, “Well, I’ve given my life to the corporate world for the last 30 years. I’ll retire soon!”

If you are in your 40s, 50s or 60s, you still have 30-40 more years ahead of you!

What are you going to do with all those years?

Look, the corporate world is broken – it’s not what it used to be!

Even 20 years ago, when I took my first corporate job, it was nothing like it is today; I looked forward to my end of the year bonuses, which in some cases were equal to one or two months’ pay. I looked forward to holiday bonuses, corporate retreats, activities and so many other benefits.

Now it’s all about corporate greed – their pockets, their bonuses and their benefits.

At my last corporate job, I was told in verbatim: “Working 8 hours a day means you only did the bare minimum. A good employee puts in at least 10 hours a day and then goes home and is ready to jump in remotely if he/she is needed.”

I clocked in at 7:30 every morning, ate lunch at my desk and clocked out at 5pm or 6pm. However, work was not over. I checked emails every half an hour. Hell, sometimes every 5 minutes! Just in case there were any issues, so I would be able to jump in and help at any given moment when needed.

I can’t tell you how many evenings I rushed home from a gathering or dinner outing, so I could work on some type of emergency that had just come up!

I never took any vacations without working throughout the entire time! These were my ‘so called vacation hours’.

People talk about this like it’s a badge of honor: “I’m taking my computer to Hawaii, because I’ll probably be working while on the beach.” It never made sense to me! This is the true definition of insanity!

I was told repeatedly that, “There are hundreds of people right now ready to take your job. So just because you’re on vacation, doesn’t mean you don’t have responsibilities. You have to be ready to respond to urgent situations.”

I often wondered: “We’re not performing brain surgery here. Nobody will die if one of the contact forms on their site is not working properly. It can surely wait until tomorrow!”

Look, I don’t want to generalize – I’m sure there are many decent organizations out there as well.

But based on talking to so many people over the years, my story is not so unique. I know that’s the way majority of organizations conduct business and treat their employees. Expendable! There is no loyalty anymore!

Anyways, I’m sorry for going on a rant – It’s time to bring this train back on track – where we were heading 50 lines ago!

All I’m trying to say is, whatever limitations you are putting on yourself, are not real!

If being tech savvy is what’s holding you back – then you need to get over that! It’s not real!

I hear this all the time: “These young people know their way around social media: Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat. I don’t even know how to use it. I’m too old to make sense out of them.”

Think about this: you taught yourself to walk. You taught yourself to tie your shoes. You learned to drive and thousands of other things. Surely you can teach yourself to use Twitter or Snapchat!

Is it going to be challenging? Of course!

I’ve been in the IT Field most of my adult life. However, when Snapchat came about, I had to constantly ask my kids to show me the same feature over and over again, until it sunk in.

However, I didn’t let that stop me from using it!

Moreover, here is another thing: you have something they don’t have. You have experience!  Whether it’s your education, or your work experience, it’s a real thing. It’s a valuable thing!

That’s something a 22 year-old doesn’t have!

So you have a real advantage over them!

Nonetheless, if after reading all of this, I still haven’t been able to convince you, then let me throw something else out there. As it turns out, many studies have been done on his topic, including reports by Kauffman Foundation, Duke University and the Founder Institute, to name a few. The collective summary of their findings was that the average entrepreneur is 40 years old when they launch their startup, and people over 55 are twice as likely as people under 35 to launch a high-growth startup.  The average age of a successful startup with over $1M in revenues was 39.

That’s eye opening!

Hopefully, I covered some of the main limitations that might be keeping you from starting your own gig. I’d love to know about other common reasons that might be holding back. Please hit the comment button and let me know!