All You Need To Keep In Mind Before Starting A Venture At 50

Starting off a new venture at 50? While it may sound quite a big deal, your smart moves can help you fulfil your dreams. Here’s some expert advice!

Daisy Kumar, 62, decided to leave her job as a realtor for a real estate company in Bangalore where she worked for nine years in 2015 and decided to take a plunge in her new initiative when she was 57. She started working as a freelancing realtor and has been on her own for the last three years.

Daisy’s secret sauce to starting a venture post 50:

• Keep in mind one’s retirement plans, health insurance and other financial obligations.
• Make sure one has enough savings to plunge into something new at 50 as savings is the only thing one may have to depend on.

Shaila Pandey, 70, has been running Opto Opticians, one of Bangalore’s first optical outlets single-handedly since the demise of her spouse (WHICH YEAR). Alongside, she had taken up the franchisee for Just Bake, a well known baking enterprise, running it for seven years until ill health led her to close it down.

Shaila’s secret sauce to running a venture post 50:

• Take on a franchise that is well established and invest a part of profit so that one has something to fall back on
• Take inputs from those who are already in similar business
• Avoid unnecessary splurges
• Develop a good rapport with customers
• Allocate a fixed fund for rent and staff salaries beforehand
• Use own investment as much as possible

A financial expert talks about things to be kept in mind when you start afresh at 50

Samyuktha Vibhu from ithought Financial Consulting believes that the most important thing in a new business is sustaining healthy cashflow and having enough visibility into how they will grow. Thorough market research before embarking on the venture is necessary. An entrepreneur must know the market, model, competitors, competitive advantage and audience.

“Business comes with uncertainty, so every entrepreneur must create enough financial security to outlast lean periods. One must be willing to cut back on their lifestyle to support the business during the early stages. Being prepared for uncertainty entails knowing that some months will be worse than others. One must also keep an eye out for disruption, competitors with deep pockets, and regulations. The easiest way to do this is through an enterprise plan. The enterprise planning exercise reviews your business model, studies your competitors, sets growth targets, and evaluates funding options. Starting with a plan will give you clarity on when you need to hit certain milestones and how you can get there,” says Vibhu.

According to her, shifting from a salaried job to an entrepreneurial role requires both planning and a leap of faith. “When you are an employee, you have a support system at work. When you are the employer, you must create a support system. Partnering with someone is necessary. Prepare for the long hours and the passion it takes for a business to flourish,” she says.

All about the fund allocation and fall back plan

It is important to be free of personal debt when one starts own venture. The fund allocation should then go towards emergency funds – one for the business and one for personal needs. The emergency funds must always be segregated. A corpus for expenses must be constructed as it will ensure that one’s needs are provided for even if the business is unable to support them. Remaining funds should go towards the business. It’s always best to have a qualified professional manage the family’s finances.

“One way to ease into it would be to explore part-time work, a sabbatical, freelancing/consulting, parallelly. This ensures a certain level of job/financial security as the business grows. It’s equally important to maintain a strong professional network and be updated on industry trends after the shift,” explains Vibhu.

Prevention is always better than a cure

One way to limit the downside is to scale the business only based on merit believes Vibhu. “Continuously monitoring the model provides timely feedback. This allows you to plug leaks before they become unmanageable. When the business does well, it is crucial to take money out and diversify it into other avenues. It might be tempting to plow everything back in the business, but liquid wealth averts financial crises,” says Vibhu.

Selecting the right source of funding is crucial. Debt allows one to make business choices freely but binds one to regular repayments. Equity has limited liability and limits one’s ability to make unilateral decisions. It’s important to select a company structure without personal liabilities. This ensures that one’s assets are safeguarded even if the business doesn’t do well.