Senior entrepreneurs bring to their businesses more extensive and varied professional experience than younger entrepreneurs.  And in addition to work skills, they’ve got the best experience of all – from the university of life.

Senior entrepreneurs are more likely than younger age groups to deeply understand their industry. This experience means they’re better able to identify and evaluate business opportunities. They’re also more likely to design products and services that meet the needs of paying customers. What’s more, their know-how often delivers lower startup and running costs.

Large personal, social and professional networks are key to business success. This is because business owners can draw on the expertise of their connections and more readily obtain the resources they need. And knowing more potential customers is good for sales. Because they’re built up over a lifetime, the networks of older entrepreneurs are generally unparalleled.

Senior entrepreneurs are most likely to finance their business start- up with their own money. Self-funding makes it easier to start a business, reducing capital costs, risk and stress. What’s more, a stronger financial position means the business is less likely to expe- rience funding constraints, making growth easier.19

Businesses started by senior entrepreneurs have a much higher survival rate than other startups. And the reasons are many: experience, connections, the right mindset and the capacity to self-finance.

Compared with younger age groups, older entrepreneurs are less likely to be motivated by money alone. Instead, they’re more likely to be driven by a desire to solve a problem or create value for their customers. Senior entrepreneurs often have greater self-belief and persistence – two traits necessary for a successful business.

As risk tolerance decreases with age, senior entrepreneurs are more likely to pursue robust and therefore less speculative business opportunities. And this risk-awareness contributes to a lower fear of failure than for younger age groups.

As Australians enjoy longer and healthier lives, it makes sense that more people will want to tap into the benefits of working for longer – blending retirement and work. While not everyone wants to or has the skills to start a business, self-employment may bring compelling advantages:

Control. Greater work autonomy and independence may increase your scope to control what work you do and who you work with.

Flexibility. Self-employment can bring greater flexibility in terms of when you work and how many hours you work. Reducing hours can be more desirable than giving up work completely, enabling more Australians to shape their retirement in a way that suits them.

Purpose and mental agility. Entrepreneurship can bring mental challenges, keeping your body active, staving-off boredom, maintaining social connections and bringing value to other people. Retaining daily routines can be a healthy way to age.

Conserve retirement savings. If you delay dipping into your retirement savings, they’ll last a lot longer, increasing your income and standard of living for a time when you no longer want to work.