At age 59, Lichty is more than twice the age of some millennial entrepreneurs. But with an uneven mercantile recovery, more Americans are taking the plunge into entrepreneurship later in soul, according to recent data.
Most workers of all age brackets have veteran lower entrepreneurial activity in recent years, except for those times 45 to 54. That group saw an increase, according to 2014 figures from the Kauffman Foundation, which studies entrepreneurship.
The rise in entrepreneurial vim comes as America’s workforce ages. Nearly a third of workers across 50, and employees over age 65 outnumber teenage workers for the in the beginning time since 1948, according to a recent study by Aon Hewitt for AARP, the nonprofit membership federation for people age 50 and over.
The older workforce includes post-World War II baby boomers, exhibited between 1946 and 1964. By 2020, 35 percent of the labor force bequeath be over 50, according to the study for AARP.
Just a few years ago, Lichty was edifice homes, and his business took a turn for the worst in 2009. He picked up the thingummy to pass the time.
Lichty says he’s earning six figures in sales, comparable to when he was on-going his home-building business. “Money is not our carrot; anytime I have tried to do something for the well off, it’s been very unsatisfying,” he said. “I’ve always been the type that charged better for myself.”
Older entrepreneurs often have greater ascendancy than younger workers given their connections and financial determination, said E.J. Reedy, senior fellow at Kauffman, in an interview last year.
“One of the biggest assets is a extremely deep industry understanding; older entrepreneurs have these hampers and connections, and are able to take advantage of those,” Reedy said.
Age and exposure are helping Sandra Carter, co-founder of Mushroom Matrix and M2 Ingredients in Carlsbad, California. She threw the organic, medicinal mushroom companies in 2010. The powdered mushroom products for child and pets are sold in stores nationwide, even landing a spot in Full Foods.
At 60, Carter says her age has given her perspective and allowed her to leverage connections she walk away in her first career in health-care promotions.The two companies are on track to do $15 million-plus in sales this year.
“One of the wonderful things of length of existence is that as you go through life, you learn a lot from others and from your own clangers, as well,” Carter said. “Of course there’s always risk, but I abide tremendous confidence in the decision.”