Have you ever had the itch to ditch the traditional day job and go at it on your own? Maybe you’ve always dreamed of opening a restaurant, or you have a passion for design and want to start your own Web design company. Whatever dream you may have, there’s a good chance you’ve put it on the back burner, let it simmer, but never did anything with it. Well, there’s no time like the present. You’ve gained valuable experience over the years, learning in college, at the day job, and through everyday life. While there will always be a learning curve, you need to gear up and lay the foundations down of your company. In fact, here are top reasons why you should start a business in your 30s (and why you should stop putting off that dream).
1. You’ve Developed Skills That Will Transfer To Your Own Business
By the time you’ve hit your 30s, you’ve been working for some time. In fact, you’ve probably been in your current career path for at least a decade, if not longer. The skills you’ve developed over this time will help you when opening a new business.
But what happens if your future business has nothing to do with what you’re doing right now? There’s nothing wrong with that at all. You might work in accounting now but want to move to running a restaurant. The accounting knowledge you have will help. You’ve also learned how to follow a set schedule and communicate professionally with others. All of this is will help you with your new business.
Eventually, the skills you learn will plateau. While it is always possible to learn new tricks and insights, the amount you learn with the time you put in will start to become stagnant. You’ll hit a point in time where you’re doing the same basic tasks every day, with very little in the way of new education coming in. That is one reason why you’ll be better off starting your own business in your 30s than letting your work time drag on with a job where you’re not going to increase your skills.
2. You’ve Seen The Future
You’ve been in your line of work for several years now. And, chances are, you’ve seen the future. You can see what your life will be like five or ten years down the road. Does it really look like something you want to do? If you stay with the job, you might find it difficult, if not impossible, to walk away. In a way, you’ll become stuck. In your 30s, you’re anything but stuck. So take advantage of it.
- But what if you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum?
- What if you can’t see the future?
- What if you’re trying to look five or 10 years down the road and you don’t see anything at all?
That’s even more worrisome. It means the job might not be stable, or maybe the career path won’t even exist in a decade. If you risk staying with the line of work, you may miss your best opportunity to get your feet under you with the new business.
Knowing your future and wanting to improve upon it is one thing, but if you can’t even envision what might happen five years down the road with your current job, that’s an entirely different reason why you need to start a business.
3. You’ve Learned The Art Of Networking
Networking is important for any business. You’ve had to hustle and create everything yourself up to this point. From finding work to talking with other employees who also started at the ground up. You’ve developed a strong network. You can use this networking to build your new business. You can also pull from this skill as you grow your idea for the new company.
By the time you’re in your 30s, you not only know how to network, but you’ve likely met many of the major players who are up and coming in the area as well. Yes, there will always be an influx of new talent, but chances are there are other individuals who are looking to make the move into starting a new business just like you. This means you need to start pitching yourself and your idea to these like-minded individuals. Because you know what will happen if you don’t? Someone else will, and then this top-tier talent will move on without you.
While you do know the art of networking, it is important to take advantage of this art you’ve been fine-tuning and use it to your own business advantage.
4. You Have Time For Failure
It’s important to be completely honest with yourself. There’s always a chance a business will fail. There’s no shortage of reasons: It wasn’t prepared properly, it didn’t have a good location, marketing was bad, or it was ahead of its time. If you wait to start a business, you might have one shot at your business. But in your 30s, you can fail, learn from it, and come back better than ever.
Now is the Right Time to Start a New Business
There will never be a 100% perfect time to start a new business. There will always be second doubts. That’s just part of life. However, if you wait until you don’t have any doubts, you’ll never end up following your dream to start a business at all. That is exactly why now is the right time for you to start a new business in your 30s.
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