StartupJournal.com says more retirees

launching their own businesses

StartupJournal.com, The Wall Street Journalís guide for entrepreneurs, reports that a growing number of older workers are starting their own businesses. According to a new AARP study, 40% of all people in business for themselves are older than 50. The number of older people who are self-employed has been inching up for several years, even as the overall number of self-employed Americans has declined.

The growing number of self-employed older people is being propelled by the number of Baby Boomers heading into retirement, says Tony Lee, editor in chief of StartupJournal.com. Older workers may be attracted to self-employment as a transition to retirement or to supplement retirement income.

Self-employment can hold many rewards, and it can provide a valuable sense of fulfillment as well as grow the economy.
According to the AARP study, the self-employed have higher household incomes and financial wealth than their wage and salary counterparts. Among those age 51 and older, financial wealth averages about $740,000 among the self-employed, compared with $240,000 for wage and salary workers. At the median, the contrast is for the self-employed$312,000 compared with $119,000 for wage and salary workers.

The self-employed are less likely to have employer-provided health insurance than their wage and salary counterparts. Among self-employed workers age 51 and older, 34% have employer-provided health insurance compared with 67% of wage and salary workers of the same age.
StartupJournal.com offers the following tips to older workers thinking about starting a new business:

Think about what you want to achieve: personally, professionally and financially.
Prepare a business plan to determine goals and establish a clear vision for your business.
Donít underestimate the amount of time and money it takes to start a business.
Figure out who your potential customers will be and talk to them.
Enlist the help of professionals to get you started.