Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Older Americans Shun Retirement at 65 for Risky Startups

Startups and small businesses are the lifeblood of the American Economy.  South Florida has a wealth of retired Americans stepping in the fray throwing their experience into new business ventures.

Duking it out in the business world!!
What exciting news for the South Florida Commercial Real Estate Market!

This is very interesting to me and truly related to the economy and the rapidly changing world out there. Almost ¼ of all business started in the US in 2012 were by people over 55 years old! When I was born everyone held to the ideal that if you worked hard and saved your money that at 65 years old you would retire. This is what everyone worked for and dreamed about, the light at the end of the tunnel for all the hard work you put in throughout your life. Well those days are pretty much officially a memory. With people living longer, jobs, pensions and savings disappearing, older people are going back to work not retiring. And since many of them can’t find jobs they are starting companies of their own. As someone who just did this (fortunately of my own choice), I can attest to the fact that it has never been easier to start one. After all if I could do it more than likely anyone can. There is a book out there that I also think is inspiring many people to do this, on their own accord or otherwise. It is called The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris. 

A friend of mine lent it to me and it really is a game changer. It certainly inspired me to go down the path. But let us not digress. The fact that so many older people are going back into the labor force is great news. It is creating jobs, hope and hopefully more money for people than if they worked for someone else. While it is not in this article, I have been reading how many older people are now filling badly needed positions in the senior care industry. This is something that has been done in other nations (most notably in Asian countries) for a long time now and we are finally starting to catch on. Older people want to work and they are using their experience, skills and time to make it happen. I think this is a very positive development, mainly as a result of the recession, that deserved mention.



1 comment:

  1. As an almost 55, about to launch 3 start-ups of my own, and 2 start-ups for a client, I have to say, its good to see our segment of the population recognized. SCORE is also a great resources for younger people to use the SBA and find older executives volunteering as mentors. Keep it up Orin!

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