Retirement is a Good Time to Start a Business

I found a really good article at the Spherion Career Blog with some tips and advice for mature women who are in the workplace.

One of the tips struck me:

If the changing marketplace does not support your current career, maturity is an excellent time to explore long-held dreams. Do you want to start your own business? More and more women (proportionately more than men) are doing just this. Do the work. A meaningful work life matters.

The concept of giving meaning to one's life through work is an old principle and starting a business at retirement can be a good idea.
There are definite advantages to starting a business later:

Capital - Although the job losses on Wall Street and the slide in 401K accounts might have people worried, older people will typically have more capital to leverage for starting a business.

Network - Imagine the list of contacts you could draw on as a mature person. You certainly have more than someone just starting out and that is a real advantage for starting and growing a business.

Skills and Self Knowledge- This one is key. I really feel that maturity brings a certain self knowledge and an understanding of strengths and weaknesses. Both are good personal attributes for starting a business.

So if you are retireing and still considering what your encore career should be, consider creating your own business.