seniorpreneursFred Dawkins (co-founder of The Old Hide House) wrote a book called “Ageless Entrepreneur; Never too Early, Never Too Late.” The book offers a new perspective that young people face when starting their careers and the possibilities for those who are nearing an end to a long career who still want an income. In the coming weeks, we will be sharing more about Fred’s book and the reviews it received.

The terms entrepreneur and start-up have traditionally been associated with risk and starting off with nothing, but this new breed of entrepreneurs are the retiring “baby boomers” who have spent a lifetime building their wealth and are not interested in taking on too much risk. Their experience, credentials and willingness to continue working into their retirement years is what helps them gain the trust of customers and the confidence of loans officers at their bank or credit union.

If you look around most office spaces, there is an increase in the number of people with grey hair. This is largely due to the fact that many tenants are baby boomers who are either retired or will be retiring. But they are also being seen in the offices and boardrooms of office businesses centres that are mainly used by small businesses and entrepreneurs.

When most people think of entrepreneurs and business start-ups, they think of young ambitious men and women. But the new players in start-ups seem to be people in their fifties and sixties. Yes, seniors have surged to the forefront of the entrepreneurial stage. This growing trend of businesses being started and run by older entrepreneurs has led to the creation of new terms such as ‘seniorpreneur’ and ‘greypreneur.’ Many of these new business owners are not looking to turn their homes into their offices, but instead are looking to office business centres as the place to have their office space.

Many of these entrepreneurs are in their fifties and sixties. This represents one of the largest group surges in entrepreneurial activity by age (just behind those who are 35 to 44). There are several factors for this trend, including increased longevity. These entrepreneurs may be at the age when they must look at their retirement finances, but they also look at how they will keep busy and active during their retirement years. This combination of economic need and the growing number of baby boomers who are finding themselves with much more time, energy and money on hand, has led to this surge in senior-citizen entrepreneurs.

For some senior entrepreneurs, it is not so much financial necessity, but the need to stay busy and continue making money while doing something they love. This also gives this group a slight edge over younger entrepreneurs because they are also the target market for many products and services that are sought after by other seniors. While most of these businesses will likely be home-based, many have started using office space for rent – just to get themselves out of their homes.

Often, entrepreneurs will look to locate their businesses at serviced office business centers that allow them to concentrate on their core objectives – and not have to worry about the daily administration of an office or the potential staff needed to manage their office space. In our interview with Judi Hughes of My Planning Partners (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SvMqk3V6vs), she made a great point: “For a woman being at home, you’re constantly torn between being a business person and care giving. But if you’re going off to the office, everybody takes you seriously.”

While many entrepreneurs have been successful running small businesses from home, others have found it easier to work from an office space that is more conducive to doing business. They are able to reduce the potential distractions from accomplishing their business goals at home. As well, they also do not want their customers hearing children talking or dogs barking in the background while conducting a business call. This is why more senior people in business start-ups want office space for rent.

Even senior entrepreneurs who are able to work from a home office or run their business out of their car, have found that in order to be taken seriously in business, they cannot appear to be running their operation that way. So, they will often have virtual office solutions already in place. Always meeting clients in coffee shops or other public places does not set a professional tone for a small business or start-up.

One such virtual solution that is popular for successful home-based businesses is having a prestigious business address and not a home or P.O. Box as that specific address. Smart business owners who primarily work on the road are utilizing virtual office solutions that include mail service and/or telephone and mail service at a business centre. In this way, their calls are being answered at the same location where they receive their mail and courier packages. This gives the business added credibility.

There are plenty of resources that an office business centre can offer entrepreneurs besides just office space for rent Toronto or virtual offices. Many senior-owned small businesses are looking at how office business centres are a great resource for business start-ups. Office business centers offer receptionist service, meeting rooms, printing and copying, along with secretarial services. Many office business centers also give you access to professional services such as accounting, bookkeeping, graphic design, marketing and small business advice – just to name a few.