Is starting a business a sign of a midlife crisis?

H

huntbchsocal

New member
According to people close to me I am experiencing symptoms of a midlife crisis. Ironically one of the symptoms is I suddenly quit my dead-end job and to a risk on myself starting a business. Im 40 so I guess this is the timeframe it would happen just never thought about it until someone asked...

Did anyone else get the "mid-life crisis" talk when deciding to start a business?
 
@mechie Never wanted to agree more with someone before, but what if they are right and it is just a midlife crisis? Maybe it’s that just sometimes good things have came out of them, and those people felt they were like iron the entire way to success.

Edit: or maybe it is a midlife crisis in a positive way. Maybe that midlife is where a person is mature enough to really see their true potential and gets upset about what they are, and sometimes decide to act upon it. Obviously most of those people are gonna get disappointed with the result, and THAT’S when they label it as midlife crisis as a bad thing.
 
@bartbreen I read the avg age of a successful business start is 45. Either way, we definitely see far too many "wunderkind" type stories, and not enough "veteran worker who's really smart decides to do it themselves ad an entrepreneur and has more success than their former company"
 
@huntbchsocal I've been posting a bit about "Think and Grow Rich" recently. It was written in the 1930s and has helped many people. One chapter specifically mentions that his research shows most men do not become successful until their 40s.

That timeline matched mine perfectly. And I had all sorts of different people who had no clue about my business tell me all sorts of negative things. But guess what? They were all wrong.

So now you are 40. You have learned some things, have some business experience and confidence, and can execute your plan. Most people will never, ever do that. Bummer for them.
 
@avery123 Can’t listen at all to anyone who has never pursued their own business. Most people who have never started a business or even given it much thought are completely ignorant of the financial potential of a strong business. They simply cannot fathom that the ceiling of income is only limited by your time, resources, and ability. Not a boss or HR. You get to plan on how much you want to grow and earn. I own a brand of very niche products which sell mostly on one of the biggest marketplaces - Amazon. From the outside, I know family and friends can’t wrap their heads around the kind of revenue and profit we pull in. It’s super worth it to pursue business. Anyone who does not explore their unique gifts in business might be missing out not only on financial reward but freedom, self-esteem and feeling of accomplishment, as well as being the creator of something that brings some degree of joy/relief.
 
@misput
  1. Get a good partner/spouse that supports you in every way. My wife was not only supportive emotionally but also helped supplement our income while my business was building up.
  2. Have a good understanding of the business model. Know your customer. Do your research, join online groups and forums (Reddit is can be okay and garbage for comprehensive and specific advice related to your business of choice). Read and watch a lot.
  3. Fail. Even if you have a great understanding of and confidence in the potential of a business, you will likely be short of experience in executing. I failed my first couple products but had no doubt it was my fault due to poor selection and design of products. Learn and grow.
  4. Barriers of entry are good and probably a must have. Don’t choose a business or product that can be easily replicated. Think about the longevity of your business. You want it to go smoothly for years to come. Patents, branding, design and production complexity, initial start up capital requirements are all great barriers. Put in the hard work up front that few others are willing to do and it pays off.
  5. Know your numbers. Related to point 2 above. But make forecast models of your margins with assumptions for all costs needed to sell. Make sure you are making enough profit that you will be able to reinvest and not, at least initially, rely on outside financing.
  6. Start small and launch a business you can afford. Make a plan for cash flow and when and how you expand if needed.
I’m sure there’s many more, but those are off top of my head.
 
@huntbchsocal Yeah man, the better you get the more the hate will grow from all directions. Wife kids, mom, dad. I'm young but had entrepreneur parents. They barely have friends except the few that stood by and helped rather than hated. Combined REAL friends they have at age 57 is maybe 8.
People hate their opinions and actions because they are bold, like your next step. I wish you the best - do what you want.
It's your life
It's gonna be your deathbed
And your last thoughts
 
@huntbchsocal People will tell you everything for you not to succeed, because they need you at the place where you are. They need you to be at the 9-5 weather be insurance, peace of mind, kids insurance whatever.

Just know most businesses fail. But if you decide to work hard at it it’ll have a better chance than the next persons.
 
@avery123 Wow I needed this!! I've been questioning my y career choices in the past 13 years. Layoffs also added and ruined it. I've been laid off twice. Now, I'm going to start my own.
 
@btot You're welcome. But I have you beat: I was fired 4 times (I hate the euphenism "laid off". It used to mean you'd be hired back when more work appeared). The last time was when I finally said "f it, I'll do it by myself". Worked out perfectly.
 
@avery123 How did you start? I am starting my own ecommerce. Of course if I look at the ecommerce subreddit I get scared. I do know how to set it up and what is needed to grow but seeing people having $0 for sales is rough
 
@btot I'm of the opinion (backed by Think and Grow Rich) that you will do something you have an edge on... you are an expert on (or become one). In my case, I had been doing data analysis for ad agencies. The day after the last one fired me (because I refused to move to a different country to head up their new office there) I said, "I'll do it myself". I spent about 2 weeks reading a couple of marketing books. Put up a website.. then looked for ads from people/businesses that needed help. Was also in a facebook group of ex-members of one big agency. Between all that I managed to get some paid gigs. Then met a guy who became my sales agent.

THAT took a couple of years. But I made good $ and freed up some time. That's when I read think and grow rich.. and did what it said. That lead me to a new technology idea, which lead to some good money. Now I can sit on reddit and waste time.
 
@avery123 Does it talk about women? lol

Or are most women not rich😂 Just tryna see where I fall.

My boyfriend keeps telling me that most women get rich either from their husbands or fathers and not through their own efforts. Which could be 90% true.

What do you think about that?
 
@chiamoni Yes, the book mentions women. It says something like, "For some reason they don't do the things needed to become millionaires". In the 1930s - all the examples Hill studied were men. I don't know if there even were millionaire women that "thought and grew rich" - meaning did something themselves to earn the money.

My opinion: Women can certainly do it, but it will help if they harness their unique skills to do so.
 
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